


Tracking the Sun

by LoquitorLatinae



Series: Chasing the Moon [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Shifters, M/M, Superfamily, Superhusbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-01-05 23:55:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 148,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoquitorLatinae/pseuds/LoquitorLatinae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to “Chasing the Moon”. Steve and Tony have everything now: a home, a pack, a purpose, a family. They've come to terms with what it means to be mates and work to keep the peace between Shifters and the human world. But when a new enemy comes after Tony Stark, “human” billionaire, will they be strong enough to endure or will they let it tear them apart? Superfamily Shifter AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I did it. I made a sequel. Oh my goodness, I just hope someone out there just wants to read this because I can already see so much time being invested in this. XD That being said, this sequel to “Chasing the Moon” (please read before beginning this story) will not be nearly as long as its predecessor (probably best for all involved). In fact, this first chapter might be the longest. But I hope that you enjoy it nonetheless. I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback as this new story gets off the ground!
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays~!

“ _Steve_!”

Ducking just in time to avoid being hit in the forehead by a metal pipe, Steve swiveled on his heels and swung his fist up to land a devastating punch on his attacker’s jaw. The beta Wolf flew back, the metal pipe he had been wielding falling from his hand and skidding across the concrete floor.

Natasha darted in from behind and finished him off with a quick kick to the back of his head. The Shifter’s eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the ground. Straightening up, Steve flashed her a grateful smile. “Thanks for the warning.”

The redhead nodded distractedly as her eyes skimmed the room. “Where did Clint go?”

“He went after the alpha. I’ll catch up to him if you can clean up in here.”

Natasha nodded again and Steve turned to head back outside, his footfalls echoing in the now silent warehouse.

SHIELD had sent them another mission and Steve had assigned himself, Natasha, and Clint to Cincinnati to carry it out. He had let the others stay at home; Bruce had reached a breaking point in some research project he was working on, Thor and Loki were flying back to the States from Europe, and Tony…well, someone needed to watch Peter. Steve really just hoped that Tony remembered to cook three meals a day for Peter. Cats didn’t always need to eat consistently but Wolves, especially growing pups, needed food almost constantly. And with Bruce being so busy…but Pepper was sure to be keeping an eye on things. And if all else failed Peter knew where the crackers were in the pantry.

Steve was brought suddenly back to the present as he was hit with the smell of another alpha Wolf. SHIELD had sent them out to deal with a Wolf pack that had been causing trouble in a rougher part of Cincinnati. It was a small pack but they had started tagging, both with scent and spray-paint, to mark out what they were calling their territory. Although it was against the law, SHIELD probably wouldn’t have intervened but then they had started to brawl with other Shifters and, even worse, harass some local humans. Things were better now between humans and Shifters than they had been a year ago but SHIELD wanted to stamp out anything that could bring that bad blood back as quickly as possible.

He heard Clint let out a shout and skidded around a corner to find the marksman pointing his bow with an arrow notched neatly on the string at the pack’s young alpha who he had crowded up against the side of the building. The Wolf’s eyes were darting around like a caged animal with his lips drawn into a hard, desperate line and Steve knew that he was going to have to act fast before this got messy. Or before their target ended up earning himself an arrow through his chest.

Rushing forward, Steve body slammed the other alpha hard enough that he heard the brick on the wall behind them crack. In another second Clint was at his side and together they wrestled the struggling Shifter to the ground. Clint produced a set of industrial-strength zip-ties from his pocket and between the two of them they quickly had all of the alpha’s limbs restrained in such a way that it would be physically painful for him if he tried to shift into his Wolf form. Steve heard footsteps coming up behind them and identified it as Natasha who had undoubtedly restrained the beta back in the warehouse. “Are you two alright?”

“Yeah.” Steve grunted as the other alpha snarled and elbowed him in the side by thrashing his body. “Yeah, we’re fine. Did you call the local SHIELD agents?”

Natasha nodded and came down to crouch next to them, observing the Wolf on the ground with a cool eye. “They already picked the others up and they’re on their way.”

Clint scowled down at their adversary through his sunglasses. “This guy doesn’t know when to quit!”

“Screw all of you!” The Wolf reared up but Steve quickly got him back under control. “Who the fuck do you think you are, coming in like this?”

Steve sighed. After all the trouble this alpha and his pack had put them through, Steve didn’t know why he had even hoped he would go quietly. “We’re with SHIELD and frankly you’re lucky we didn’t call the regular police to pick you up instead.” Lord knew they would only be too happy to thrown these hooligans in prison and they would become just another statistic of down-and-out Shifter communities. “Now you have the right to remain silent, and I suggest you exercise that right until you call your attorney or one is provided to you. The SHIELD agents will inform you more about your legal rights when they arrive.”

“Where is the rest of my pack?”

“They’ve also been restrained and some have already been taken into custody.”

“What about Sarah?”

Steve narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Who?”

“My fucking mate! What’d you do to her?”

The young Wolf was still in a rage and Clint had to reach in to help Steve hold him down so the alpha wouldn’t hurt himself with his restraints. Steve hadn’t known the names of the Wolves they had just dealt with but there had only been a handful of females among them. And if he recalled their scents properly, the one coated in the alpha’s scent was a tough-talking blonde beta who had tried to kick Clint in the groin. If so then she was one of the first they had come across and was probably already with SHIELD. “She’s fine. She’s with SHIELD so you’ll probably get to see her soon. _If_ you get a hold of yourself and calm down.”

It didn’t quite work but the Wolf’s trashing decreased, allowing Clint to pull back and stand next to Natasha. Steve rested all his weight on the alpha beneath him while his packmates cycled around to check on their other Wolves and make sure they hadn’t managed to wiggle out of their restraints. Soon the sound of sirens reached Steve’s ears and he knew that their back-up had arrived.

The local SHIELD agents quickly took control of the situation as soon as they arrived on site and Steve gladly let them, willing to respect their jurisdiction rights. They had been generous enough not to impose on Steve’s activities after learning that he and his team was being sent in to handle the matter and Steve was happy to repay that by staying out of their way as they wrapped things up.

Two agents, one male, one female, both human, walked over and took custody of the alpha, freeing Steve up to find his team. They weren’t too hard to find, having reappeared back on the sidewalk at SHIELD’s arrival. For the first time Steve got a close look at Clint and realized that the Hawk had four cuts sliced down his arm, the limb unprotected by his sleeveless tactical gear. They weren’t deep but they were enough to make Clint glare down at the exposed skin on his arm with a scowl.

Walking over, Steve nodded towards the wounds when the Hawk glanced up at the sound of his footsteps. “It looks like he got you a bit.”

Clint tisked and flexed the bloodied arm. “Yeah, the dick started to shift then decided against it, but managed to change just enough to get his claws out.”

Natasha raised her brow judgmentally but Steve could see a teasing glint in her gaze. “Slowing down?”

 Clint rolled his eyes behind his shades and pulled his bow over his shoulder as Steve began to lead the way back out to the car. “Hardly. I was a little distracted by all the teeth.”

“Make sure to have Bruce disinfect those when we get back. Who knows what sort of garbage these Wolves crawled through?” Clint winced as he took in the alleyway around them. Steve followed his gaze around and tilted his head to agree with Natasha. Trash had piled up along the sides of the buildings and there was a distinct odor of urine and rotting food in the air; a ripe breeding ground for bacteria. In fact, the faster they could get those cuts cleaned out the better.

“Maybe we should take care of that on the way back. There’s a First Aid kit underneath the passenger’s seat of the van.”

Clint grinned up at him. “You always have a plan, don’t you?”

“I try.”

They loaded up into the car SHIELD had provided them with practiced efficiency, Steve instinctually putting himself in the driver’s seat while Natasha took shotgun and Clint slipped into the back. Steve barely had the engine started up before Natasha dug around under her chair and pulled out a small First Aid kit and tossed it back to Clint. “Can you handle that on your own?”

Clint caught the kit midair with a sour pout on his face. “I think I can do that much.”

Natasha didn’t look quite convinced but Steve wasn’t worried. He knew that Natasha and Clint both had taken several intensive field medic courses throughout their careers with SHIELD since before Steve came along they had both tended to go on solo missions and only had themselves to depend on if they were injured. And even though when Steve glanced in the rearview mirror it looked like Clint was just botching it up as he tried to wrap a bandage around his arm the Hawk had to make it work somehow. He had survived this long, after all. Moreover they’d be at the airport in less than forty minutes and Natasha could rebind it for him if it was as awful as it was sort of looking in the mirror.

The drive was quiet, broken only by small conversations about their mission. Natasha was already on her tablet—her _StarkPad_ , pre-market edition—and typing in the basics for the reports they would all have to submit once they got back to SHIELD headquarters in the city.

In the quiet Steve’s thoughts drifted back to his family as he drove them to the airport. Now that the excitement from being out on a mission was starting to wear off the longing to get back to Tony and Peter was growing more intense. He tried to not let it become a distraction while he was out in the field but he didn’t see the harm in indulging in those kinds of thoughts after it was over and he was on his way home. Except he wasn’t going to be able to go directly home since they had to be debriefed first.

Security lines were non-existent for them at the airport since they were taking a special SHIELD-issue plane back which meant that as soon as they pulled up to the tarmac they were able to load up and take-off the moment the runway was cleared. Once they were resettled Natasha deemed that Clint had done a decent enough job with bandaging himself up and had let him sleep. As a Hawk, Steve had learned that Clint tended to sleep whenever they flew in airplanes—whenever he was awake he tended to get antsy and would constantly be eyeing the windows and emergency exits. Natasha used her extra time to clean herself up in the small lavatory while Steve located a pad of paper and a pen and decided to get a jump on his own report.

The plane ride was short and simple. They had clear skies, no turbulence, and it was over before Steve realized they had even crossed a state line. As they started to descend he peeked out the window and in the distance saw the wooded area where he knew Tony’s house was. A wistfulness hit him square in the chest but he swallowed it down, knowing that he’d be with the rest of his pack soon. That he’d be back with his family soon. As he turned away from the window Natasha gave him a knowing look but didn’t say anything about it.

They landed in the municipal airport and Steve woke Clint up so that they could disembark and go out to the new car that SHIELD had waiting for them. It only took them a few minutes more to navigate the city traffic and reach SHIELD HQ. A few agents greeted them as they walked into the lobby and Natasha grabbed Clint to stop him from flirting with a cute brunette human and herded him to the elevator. Steve in return struggled to hide his smile, knowing that he shouldn’t encourage unprofessional behavior like that. Especially when he wanted to stay on Natasha’s good side.

Natasha pressed the call button for the elevator a little harder than necessary then turned back to look at Steve just as he managed to school his expression into a neutral, curious look. “Can you go clear things with Agent Coulson?”

His neutrality broke as he blinked in surprise but nodded as he realized that she was giving him a quick escape. “Of course. Do the two of you have everything else handled?”

“It’s not a problem. Go ahead and head back home when you finish upstairs.”

“Are you sure?” It wasn’t that he thought they couldn’t do it, he just didn’t want both of them to feel like it was something they had to do just to give him a break. Not that he didn’t appreciate it. Because he definitely did.

“I’m sure.”

Steve looked over at Clint to search his face for any sign of annoyance but by then the Hawk had caught on to what Natasha was planning and looked perfectly fine with it. “Alright. Thank you. If I  remember right, Bruce should have been scheduled to be working here in the lab today so could you make sure that he gets home too when you’re ready to leave?”

Clint grinned as the elevator reached their floor and the doors silently slid open. “Worried that he’ll forget to check the clock again?”

Smiling back, Steve tilted his head. “I’ve learned the hard way from Tony.” From both Tony and Bruce. Although where Tony usually knew what time it was and just didn’t care if he worked until three or four in the morning, Bruce entirely lost track of the hours when he was the lab. Clint was actually the best at pulling him away, though Steve was half certain that it was just because the Hawk just liked the excuse to bother Bruce.

The Hawk’s grin widened and he winked. “Don’t worry. We’ll drag him out kicking and screaming if we need to.”

Steve smiled again at the imagery Clint’s words brought to mind. He would pay money to see that. But Steve kept that to himself; he wouldn’t put it past Clint to try it out to earn a quick buck. “Thanks.”

They all stepped into the elevator and Natasha and Clint rode it up with him until they exited on the fourth floor, leaving Steve alone to take it up to the fifth. SHIELD’s new building had the same basic design as the one that had been destroyed by Hydra agents but it definitely had a new modern look to it. Before it was bureaucratic but now it looked like Tony had come in and had a field day. Which he sort of did. Stark Industries had offered a very generous donation during reconstruction and SHIELD had used it to install a communications system that even Tony admitted to being impressed by, though he had told Steve that he could have done better.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal a long hall lined with touchscreen panels displaying maps, current events, and Shifter statics from the city and the nation as a whole. Invisible to the naked eye, a security system nearly as complex as JARVIS was monitoring the entire building and reading the vitals and identification of everyone inside it. Everything had been designed to reduce the likelihood of another attack like the one that had razed the building before and put SHIELD above all the other government and public agencies in terms of technological advancement.

It had taken a while for Steve to get used to it but now he was able to navigate through all the gadgets and screens to find what he needed. Including Phil Coulson. He nodded politely to all the agents that he passed—they all knew who he was—and walked straight to a door that for security reasons was no longer labeled with a name but with a number. But just as everyone in the building knew who Steve was everyone knew that room 5704 was Agent Coulson’s office.

Steve knocked and was immediately answered by a quick “Come in”. Obeying, Steve pushed the door open and stepped into the office. Coulson was seated behind his desk but rose to his feet when Steve walked in. “Steve, good to see you whole and healthy.”

“Yes, sir.” Steve reached forward to shake the man’s hand. “It’s good to be back.” Even though they hadn’t been gone all that long.

Phil nodded as if he could read between the lines and motioned towards the chair placed on the other side of the desk. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you.” Steve didn’t really feel like sitting after the drive and the flight but it seemed like the courteous thing to do as Phil sat back down.

Closing a few windows on his computer screen, Coulson clicked another button and a fresh page popped up. “Since you’re here I’m sure that Romanov and Barton are filing their own account but could you tell me your side of the story?”

This was the standard procedure between them. Every agent had to file their own personal report about the mission so that SHIELD could get a complete view of everyone’s roles and the decisions they made throughout. It was up to the senior operative—in their case it was Steve despite the fact that Natasha and Clint had more experience with SHIELD—to compile all of the reports and submit them to their supervisor, which was nearly always Phil. Steve and Phil usually bent the rules a bit by going through part of the process together through conversation rather than through more paperwork.

Steve frowned thoughtfully at Phil’s request, wondering how far back he would have to go and how much detail he would have to give in his account. “Has the SHEILD office in Cincinnati contacted you yet?”

“They sent a cursory report in an email.”

Good. That meant that Coulson already had the basics and that nothing Steve had to say would be a surprise. Settling back into his seat, Steve folded his arms over his chest and began at the start. “As you know the mission was to stop a city-based Wolf pack from intimidating the locals and claiming blocks as their territory. Clint, Natasha, and I split up when we arrived and between the three of us spoke with enough folks to figure out who was in charge of the pack. Once we had a name and a location, we tracked down one of the pack members and I requested an audience with their alpha. They obliged but they weren’t particularly welcoming when we went to talk. I asked them to stop or else SHIELD was going to step in and they were going to have to face the consequences.”

Phil quirked a brow curiously. “And how did they respond?”

Steve frowned at the memory then shrugged. “They laughed. But then they realized that we were serious and they got angry.” That hadn’t been a pleasant situation to be in. Steve hadn’t been seriously worried about his safety because he had Natasha and Clint at his side but it had still been uncomfortable. “They told us to leave and since it wasn’t a good situation we left to plan out our next move. We probably would’ve spent a little longer planning but they started coming after us since we hadn’t fully removed ourselves from what they considered their territory. We knew we had to take action and contain them before a civilian got injured so as they came at us we began to fight back. We started arresting them and handing them over to SHIELD, one at a time and then in small groups. Since we had started we figured that we should push forward until the job was done so we worked our way into their territory and through the pack until we had the alpha cornered in their den.” Their den had been an abandoned warehouse. “There were a few other betas with him but after a bit of a struggle we were able to subdue them without any casualties.”

The whole time Steve had been talking, Coulson had been typing. “No real problems with the city government or local law officials?”

“No. But we stayed under the radar for the most part. I’m not sure that they were even aware of our presence in the city.”

“Good. That means the SHIELD agents were doing their job. Speaking of whom, did they work well with you?”

Phil’s question was innocent enough but there was an underlying protective tone that made Steve want to smile. Because it was…cute that Phil was concerned about how other SHIELD agents were treating him and Steve could only imagine what sort of reprimand the Cincinnati branch would have received if Steve didn’t have a favorable answer. “There was a mutual respect between us. They let us handle things on our end and we did the same for them.”

“Good.”

“Is there a concern there?” Steve honestly didn’t know how other SHIELD agents felt about using Shifters as field agents and couldn’t help but wonder if it was a concern for some despite the fact that SHIELD was built around protecting and giving equal rights and opportunities to Shifters. And to control them, which in Steve’s mind was exactly why it was so important to have Shifters working for them.

“No, I just wanted to gauge their ability or wiliness to cooperate with our special operatives, such as yourself. We need to be able to keep our own people in line if we want to appear like a united force to rest of the world. Which is becoming more and more important these days.”

Phil’s elusive answer didn’t really answer any of Steve’s questions about why the other agents might not have worked well with him but he decided that if it became an issue Phil would tell him about it. Maybe it was just as simple as he said. He had no reason to doubt him. “I understand.”

Phil nodded, typed a few more words, then turned to give Steve his full attention again. “It looks like we’re all settled out here for now. If you’d like, you can stay in here to finish the rest of the paperwork or I can set you up in the common room down the hall. I think they might have a football game on but having that in the background might make filling out your report more entertaining.”

Steve appreciated the dry joke but right now he didn’t want to do either of those things. He bit the inside of his cheek to help him resist the urge to wiggle around in his chair like a school kid on a Friday afternoon. “Is there some way that I can fill the paperwork out back at the house?”

Phil blinked then nodded sympathetically. “Of course. I’ll email you the appropriate forms.”

“Um…”

The man paused at Steve’s uncertainty then smiled. “Or perhaps I can just go get a hard copy that you can take home and fill out by hand.”

“Thank you.” Steve _could_ turn his computer on at home and print out the forms but things were a lot easier this way. He still didn’t get the world’s obsession with doing everything digitally. Which was a little funny since he was mated to the world’s greatest proponent of digitization and automation.

Phil stood up and slipped around Steve to exit the room. The forms must have been kept somewhere nearby because Phil reappeared a moment later with a folder in hand. “Here you are.”

Steve rose as he took the papers from the SHIELD agent. “Thank you.”

The man waved away Steve’s thanks with another small smile. “Either bring the forms back here or, if you’re busy, I can drive by and pick them up. Say ‘hello’ to Peter for me.”

“Of course.”

Phil smiled then walked back around to his desk and turned back to his computer, undoubtedly getting right to his portion of the mission write-up. Tucking the papers under his arm, Steve moved to walk out of the door. Then he stopped himself at the threshold and rested his hand on the doorframe. “Phil?”

“Hmm?”

Steve frowned, unsure if what he was about to say was appropriate.  But over the years Steve had known him he hadn’t ever heard Phil mention anything about a family or significant other. Even someone as enveloped in their job as Phil was had to get a little lonely. Plus, he liked the man. “Instead of just driving by to pick up paperwork, would you be interested in coming over to the house for dinner sometime next week? I’m sure Peter would love a chance to see you in person.”

Coulson blinked in surprise before a small, genuine smile spread across his face. Steve had to wonder if anyone had ever made such an offer before and was instantly happy that he had. “I would like that very much. Thank you.”

“Does Thursday work for you?” Steve knew that Tony would be home early Thursday and he didn’t think that Bruce, Clint, or Natasha had any firm plans.

“Thursday would be great.”

Steve nodded and they exchanged one more smile before Steve took his leave, letting the SHIELD agent return to his duties. And so that he would be able to get back home faster.

SHIELD could have provided him with a car but Steve didn’t want to trouble them or wait the fifteen or so minutes it would take them to find a free agent and have a car pull around to pick him up. Instead, Steve just walked out of the building, took a step off the curb, and flagged down a cab. The ride would be a little expensive since Tony lived outside of town but Steve’s income could cover it. Steve thrummed with energy the whole drive over and he couldn’t keep himself from fidgeting as the taxi turned the corner onto the long road that led to the Stark Mansion. He was almost home. Almost home. He wanted to get out and run but he had the paperwork and his clothes with him, and he didn’t want to freak out the cab driver. Although the man was already giving him funny looks in the rearview mirror, probably because he couldn’t stay still.

As soon as the car reached the main driveway Steve practically threw a stack of bills at the driver and jumped out the cab, just remembering to keep a hand on the folder. Hurrying to the front door, Steve took a moment to collect himself and then reached for the door handle.

Steve could hear voices drifting out from the media room as he pushed the front doors open and he was smiling before he could realize it. A quick glance around the foyer proved the everything was just about the same as he left it. Bringing a child into the home might have encouraged most people to redecorate but not Tony Stark. He had left all of his expensive furniture, technology, and art exactly where it had always been, some of which were very child accessible. Nothing was a danger to Peter but Peter was definitely a danger to _it_ and during the first few months some fairly pricy objects had been damaged beyond repair. To his credit, Tony never got angry when something broke, simply called it survival of the fittest and had it replaced. The only thing that had really changed about the Stark Mansion was now there were kids’ toys scattered about amongst all of the pack’s other possessions. Usually Steve tried to pick them up—or, more often, encourage Peter to pick up after himself to try and instill some good habits—but it was obvious that Tony had no such inclinations.

Steve’s thought were interrupted as JARVIS’s voice echoed out from the ceiling. “ _Welcome home, Sir. Master Stark, Master Rogers has returned_.”

There was a crashing noise from the next room but before Steve even had the time to be worried about it Tony was rushing out, a grinning Peter gathered up in his arms. “Thank fu—freaking god you’re back. Here, take him.”

Steve smiled and opened his mouth but Tony cut him off before he could utter a word with a quick shake of his head. “No, just, seriously, take him.”

Steve obeyed and let Tony slide Peter into his arms before turning around and disappearing without another word. Steve watched his mate scurry away and told himself not to take it personally. He knew that Peter demanded a lot of attention and that Tony needed an equal amount of alone time that the Panther was probably near desperate to return to. So as soon as Tony disappeared from view Steve just looked down at Peter with a light smile.

The boy instantly returned it, also too used to Tony by now to be bothered by the Cat’s attitude. “Hi Pop!”

“Hey, Peter.” Leaning down, Steve gently headbutted Peter and he giggled happily. It was a standard Wolf greeting, especially between family and was an unspoken invitation for Peter to initiate contact between them. “How are you?”

Peter cuddled closer and reached up to wrap his hands around Steve’s neck, half crawling up his chest in an effort to get closer still. He wasn’t always this clingy but it was a natural and welcome response for a young beta to have to his pack’s alpha’s return. Especially when the pack alpha was his father. “I’m okay.”

Squirming some more, Peter maneuvered himself to look over Steve’s shoulder, his arms still wrapped tight around his neck. “Where’re Clint and Natasha?”

“They’re filing a report in town. They’ll be back for dinner. Speaking of, are you hungry?”

“No, I’m alright. Dad just gave me some Pop Tarts.”

At least Tony fed him _something_. Though Steve was pretty sure that those Pop Tarts had belonged to Thor. “In that case, do you want to go practice? Has your Dad been practicing with you while I was away?”

Peter became a little sullen, pulling his arms away to clutch at Steve’s shirt instead of his neck. “He, he did yesterday but not today. And the day before a little bit.”

“Do you want to show me what you learned?”

“Um…” Peter’s voice trailed off and his eyes sheepishly darted down to the ground. The look was entirely too doubtful, too hesitant, too _uncomfortable_ for Steve to stomach. There was no reason that Peter should be feeling that way about his own abilities. Not when he was only four years old.

So Steve backtracked a bit and soothed a hand through Peter’s fluffy brown hair. “How about we just go through your usual practice to warm-up then?”

Peter’s chin bobbed up and met Steve’s relaxed gaze. The little boy’s anxiety slowly melted away at the new request and Steve was glad to see it. He had gone through his ‘usual practice’ for about five months now. If he had shrunk from that Steve really would have been worried. “Okay!”

Steve set Peter down and he scampered through the house out through the back door in the kitchen. Laughing, Steve took off after him and easily overtook him as he scurried across the grass towards the large structure in the backyard that Tony called the Shed while Steve and the rest of the pack called the Gym.

Either way, it was a new workout facility they had built in back of the house. It looked like a large garage from the outside and was equipped with weights, padded mats, and a miniature obstacle course to help build agility. Each of them had some specialty equipment installed as well; Steve, for example, made sure to hang up a punching bag in the corner of the room for when he really needed to burn off some steam but didn’t have time for a long run. Once Peter’s abilities made themselves known Tony had gone so far as to install a series of metal bars on the ceiling for Peter to use though Clint had quickly adopted them as his own personal perches.

Peter didn’t waste any time once they got inside, having memorized the whole routine months ago. Even though Steve had seen it a hundred times it still awed him to watch Peter walk up to the metal wall of the gym, put his small hands up against the surface and simply start to climb. Bruce and Tony had personally analyzed Peter’s hands with the boy’s permission and had discovered that he actually had the same small hairs that real spiders had on his palms and to a lesser degree on the soles of his feet. They had also looked at the small holes on his wrists where his webs came from. Then they had ended up accidentally triggering them and had spent the next two hours cleaning the sticky fibers off of Peter and Tony’s lab. Although Peter couldn’t shift into his Wolf form, in a way he always existed in a half-shifted state.

When he reached the top of the wall, Peter unstuck one hand and shot out a web, attaching it to one of the metal bars then released the wall entirely and with a giggle swung away from it. The momentum carried him in a semi-circle arc all the way up to another metal bar that he caught hold of and scrambling up onto it. He spent the next few minutes just jumping from bar to bar and Steve tried not to worry. When they had started bringing Peter in for exercise both he and Tony had been afraid that the toddler was going to seriously injure himself but so far he had only fallen twice during all of his goofing around. Both times they had caught him before he hit the ground but Bruce assured them that even at his age if Peter fell he wouldn’t seriously hurt himself since the floors were padded and Shifters were much more durable that human children.

His thoughts were brought back up and he watched Peter shimmy clumsily up the thin metal pole that attached the bar to the ceiling. The ceiling was made of polished metal, it was on an incline, and Peter had to be upside-down as he moved but he didn’t hesitate for a second. Steve smiled up at him as he crawled his way across the ceiling until he was right above Steve. Tipping his head back, Peter smiled back and then his expression widened into a grin. “Pop, catch me!”

Last time Steve helped Peter out with his exercises he was having a bit of trouble finding a graceful way back off the ceiling but this seemed to work alright. Reaching his arms up over his head, Steve waved for Peter to come down and Peter let himself drop. Steve grunted as Peter fell down onto him and he caught him easily in his arms. “Gotcha!”

Peter laughed and flailed about until Steve was holding him just as he wanted then leaned forward to cuddle against his chest. Steve’s smile softened and he tightened his hold on the boy and took in his unique scent. It was predominately Wolf with an undercurrent of a ‘something else’ Steve knew to be Spider all drowned out by the smell of his pack, particularly him and Tony. Steve couldn’t think of a more perfect scent in the entire world.

“You two look like a Norman Rockwell painting.” Steve looked up and smiled to find Tony standing just inside the doorway. “You know, if he had painted Shifters.”

“Tony, what is it?” Steve had expected the Panther to hide out for at least another hour or two and would have been happy to give his mate the time he needed to decompress. 

Tony shrugged off Steve’s confusion. “Just wanted to let the two of you sickeningly adorable dogs know that Bruce just called. He met up with Natasha and Clint at SHIELD and they’re dragging him home for dinner.”

Steve’s eyes widened and he looked down to check his watch. “Are they coming back already? I should get something started.” He hadn’t even noticed how much time he had spent watching Peter play around. No wonder he seemed tuckered out.

“Too late. I already ordered pizza.”

Steve sighed but nodded his head in thanks. “You didn’t have to do that.” He would have been happy to cook. Tony always hated having to cook but Steve never really minded. And it made him feel bad when Tony had to spend more money on them, even though he knew the Cat didn’t care.

“And you shouldn’t have to cook after you just got back from a mission.”

“Ya, but—“

Tony interrupted him. “Peter, you’re good with pizza, right?”

Steve knew he had lost the argument when Peter brightened and he spun his head around to smile at his Dad. “With lots a meat on it?”

“Of course.”

“Yay!”

Steve laughed at Peter’s excitement and shook his head. “Okay, okay. We’ll do pizza. Let’s go inside and get ready.”

Sending Steve a victorious smile, Tony turned and watched his mate leave the gym with Peter still in his arms with no apparent intention of being put down any time soon. Tony was still smirking as Steve walked by and Steve figured it was just because Tony was now enjoying the fact he was momentarily stuck with an arm-full of wiggling Wolf cub. Steve definitely wasn’t expecting the hand on his ass and started in surprise as Tony almost—no, there was nothing almost about it—Tony shamelessly groped him right behind their son’s back. Biting his lip to keep in any embarrassing noises, Steve reached one hand back and subtly smacked his mate’s hand off. “Tony…”

“Hmm?”

Steve was almost amazed at the Cat’s abilities to sound so completely normal. “How about you go and get the table set?”

“Fine. Spoilsport.” Peter giggled as Tony stuck out his tongue. Steve rolled his eyes but mouthed ‘later’ over Peter’s head and Tony winked back before turning on his heels and heading up to the kitchen.

They had barely made it back into the house when there was a noise coming from the front of the house. Steve grunted as Peter used his chest as a launching pad, springing off of him and running through the house towards the front door with a wide grin on his face. “Uncle Bruce is home! Clint and Natasha are home!”

Tony raised a brow and Steve could only smile back at him as they listened to the sound of the front door being wrenched open followed by a surprised shout, a _thud_ , and a laugh from Clint. It sounded like Peter had tackled Bruce to the ground again. Tony shook his head. “One of these days Bruce is going to shift when Peter jumps on him like that.” Tony was joking but there was a very real underlying warning in his tone.

“He’s usually able to sense Peter coming.”

“I’m going to say ‘I told you so’ when it happens.” 

“I see you two are already back to normal.” Bruce walked in to the room with Peter’s arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, the boy clinging onto the beta’s back so firmly that Steve knew he had to be using his Spider abilities to hang on. There was a weary smile on his face as he nodded to Tony and Steve. “Steve, it’s good to see you home again.”

“You too, Bruce.”

The beta adjusted Peter’s hold as the boy’s arms slid up towards his neck. “Does someone have dinner going?”

Tony grinned as the beta’s stomach let out a low rumble. “Hungry?”

Bruce gave Tony an unimpressed look and Steve stepped in before Tony could tease Bruce anymore. “Don’t worry, pizza’s on the way. Where are Clint and Natasha?” He could smell them on Bruce and had heard them come in with him.

“They went upstairs to clean up after the mission.”

Tony glanced at Steve out of the corner of his eyes. “Something you should’ve done.”

“Hey!” Steve had meant that to come out a bit more annoyed than amused. Oh well.

“You smell like Wolf and piss.”

Steve paused then realized that he had spent the better part of the morning in a strange Wolf den and the alleyway next to it _had_ had a particularly potent urine smell. Pulling up the hem of his shirt, Steve sniffed it and, sure enough, it was a little more pungent than he had realized.

Peter frowned then made Bruce gag lightly as he pulled at the beta’s neck. “I think you smell okay!”

“See?” Tony waved towards Peter with a smirk on his lips that Steve suddenly wanted to kiss away. “Even Peter can’t give you more than an ‘okay’.”

Despite his words, the look Tony was giving him was pushing Steve’s limits and Steve knew that if he didn’t nip this in the bud his mate would get his way and they’d be up in bed before dinner even got there. “Alright, you win. I’ll go take a shower.”

Tony smile turned sly. “Maybe I’ll come and—“

Across the room, Bruce rolled his eyes as Steve flushed. “The pizza’s almost here, it’s going to be a really quick shower.”

Tony’s eyes scanned up and down Steve’s body and Steve’s throat went dry as Tony licked his lips. “I can make it quick.”

The way Tony was still looking at him was not playing fair. Steve felt his resolve wavering until Bruce loudly cleared his throat. “Maybe Steve should _just_ get cleaned up. We don’t want to hold dinner up. I’m sure Peter’s hungry, aren’t you?”

“Yeah!”

Peter’s chirp shook Steve out of his arousal and he was immediately embarrassed for losing any semblance of control in front of his son. “Y-yeah. I’m just, okay…I’m going to go upstairs now. Be right back!”

As he turned tail and hustled towards the stairs he heard Bruce let out a long sigh. “You’re terrible.”

Tony’s response drifted over to his ears as he reached the base of the staircase. “Give me a break, it’s been a whole week…”

Steve didn’t think he had ever showered so fast. He hurried for several reasons: he didn’t want to waste time up here when he finally had the majority of his pack together again, he didn’t want to be stuck in the shower when the pizza arrived, and—most importantly—he didn’t trust Tony not to try and sneak in if he took too long. And while that would have been a very good, very enjoyable thing, the timing just wasn’t right. Not when Bruce, Natasha, and Clint had just gotten home. And not when Peter was still awake. Swearing under his breath, Steve turned the water as cold as it would go and pressed his hands against the tile of the shower wall to keep his hands off of himself.

In no more than three minutes Steve was out and toweling his hair off, his skin shivering lightly as he warmed himself back up. The chill had been worth it though. It now felt like he could see Tony again without tackling him to the ground and rutting against him like he was in heat. At least he hoped so. Tony had been right; it had been a whole week. And suddenly that seemed like forever.

Steve looked up as he heard the doorbell ring and practically fell over himself as he fumbled to pull some new pants on. Shaking his head to try and get a bit more water off, he tugged a shirt on over his damp hair and hurried out the door. In the hall he saw that Natasha and Clint both still had the doors closed to their rooms and knocked on each. “Dinner’s here.”

He heard some rustling around in Clint’s room. “ _Be right out!”_

“Make sure you come down, you could use the food.” He wouldn’t put it past Clint, or Natasha really, to skip dinner in favor of finishing up any extra work or winding down, but they needed the calories. As far as Steve knew none of them had found the time to eat all day.

“ _Yes, mother_.”

Taking the hint, Steve left them alone to finish up and jogged the rest of the way down stairs. The pizza delivery man had already come and gone by the time he reached the main floor of the house so he moved directly into the kitchen. Steve claimed his seat at the head of the table with a grateful sigh and smiled as Tony sat down on his right. Peter scrambled into his seat on his left and Bruce sat down next to him, Natasha and Clint arriving not a moment later and sitting next to each other beside Tony. There were two empty seats at the far end of the long table that Steve insisted be left out for Thor and Loki even when they weren’t in the country. It was a tradition of respect and acknowledgment that Steve had carried over from his time leading the Howling Commandoes.

Peter kicked his feet excitedly under the table as Bruce passed around some plates and flipped open the lid to one of the three extra-large pizza boxes sitting in the center of the table. It might have looked like a lot of food but if he wanted to Steve could have eaten a whole pizza by himself. They were lucky that Natasha and Clint were relatively light eaters, otherwise they would have needed to order a fourth.

Dinner was fairly normal by their standards. Everyone was lively and talkative. There was a lot of conversation, a little teasing, a lot of off-color jokes phrased just innocently enough so that Peter couldn’t understand them, and the constant risk of a food-fight. Steve just barely managed to keep the peace but he was enjoying himself even as he glared at Clint as he threated to throw a piece of pizza crust at Bruce. Because he had missed this. And the way Tony’s leg kept brushing up against his under the table was nice. More than nice but Steve wasn’t going to let himself think that way because they were at the dining table and it was inappropriate.

But it was clear Tony didn’t feel the same.

Almost as soon as dinner was finished and the dishes were clean Tony managed to find an excuse to follow Steve into the library. Steve had honestly been looking for a pen so he could start the mission paperwork while it was still fresh in his mind but when he looked up the Cat was a mere three feet away and closing in.

Knowing he had been spotted and not minding in the least, Tony grinned and purposefully let his eyes drag up and down Steve’s body with so much heat in his stare that Steve swore he could feel it on his skin. It took half a second of eye-contact with his mate to make Steve completely forget about paperwork and pens. Steve licked his lips and Tony laughed, reaching out to get a tight grip on the fabric of Steve’s shirt to draw him in for a light, teasing kiss. That quick touch of lips was all that was needed to break the thin layer of self-control he had left. Tony wanted him, he wanted Tony—God, did he ever. Even one week was too long to not be able to touch his mate. Steve grunted and stared to back them out of the room, into the entry hall, and up towards the stairs.

They hadn’t made it halfway across the foyer before Bruce was hurrying after them, a towel tucked over his arm from drying the dishes. “Hey, Steve. I was hoping to have a quick word with you and Tony?”

Tony leaned back to look around Steve’s shoulder and glare at Bruce. “He’s busy.”

Steve sighed. “Tony…” He wanted to continue this just as much as Tony did but the pack had to come first.

But Tony wasn’t having it. “You’re busy.”

 Steve sucked in a breath as Tony subtly reached forward and rested his hand on Steve’s belt buckle. The gesture wasn’t sexual in itself but the promises it held were enough to make Steve break propriety. “Sorry. Excuse me, Bruce.”             

Steve let Tony drag him up to the second story and down the hall to their room, all the while trying to keep a smile off of his face. “That was rude.”

Tony grinned and with one more tug had them both in the bedroom.  “You know what’s really rude? You giving me blue-balls all night. That’s down-right cruel—“

Steve ducked down and quieted his mate with a kiss. The moan Tony let out when their lips touched sent a curl of hot pleasure down through Steve’s gut and a low growl escaped him as Tony nipped at his bottom lip until Steve’s mouth opened and they deepened their kiss. Tony adjusted his stance and Steve shivered as he felt a brush of a tell-tale hardness against his thigh. “Tony…”

“I think it’s about time we—“

This time Tony was cut off not by Steve but by the pitter-patter of small feet on the ground. Steve jerked back from his mate just as Peter bounced into the room, a warm smile on his face as Steve belatedly realized he had forgot to shut their bedroom door behind them.

“Pop, can you read me a story before bed?”

Later Steve would look back and be impressed by how quickly he was able to recover his composure. There was only a slight tremble in his voice and he turned back and nodded at his son. “Of course. Go get your pajamas on and brush your teeth. I’ll come in when you’re all done.”

Peter scampered off to do as he was told. As he left the room, Steve turned back to Tony with a small smile. “ I guess I’ll be right back.”

There was a frustrated frown on Tony’s face and he reached out to run his hands down Steve’s hip, his blunt nails scratching against the rough fabric of his jeans. “Come on, let’s just put him to bed in an hour or two. It’s only eight thirty.”

Swallowing, Steve rested a hand on top of Tony’s as the Cat’s touch began to wander further south. “That’s late enough for a four year old.” Tony snorted and Steve tilted his head. “You didn’t let him stay up all night again while I was away, did you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just until nine…or eleven or twelve.” Steve sighed and Tony pulled his hand away to wave it dismissively in the air. “Does it really matter? It’s not like he’s in school yet.”

“Wolves need routine. We need discipline.”

Tony scoffed before a thought seemed to strike him and his brow quirked up. A dirty smile slid across his lips and Steve immediately knew he had walked himself into an innuendo. “Well, who am I to deny you discipline? How about you pick a short story to read so I can knock a little discipline into you?”

Steve flushed red but couldn’t help but smile back and bow his head down for one more kiss before turning and leaving their room. When he reached Peter’s room, which was the room he used to stay in before he and Tony started sleeping together, the boy had just gotten back from the bathroom and was finishing pulling on his pajama top. Smiling at the sight, Steve crouched down to help him untangle his sleeve and grinned as Peter finally tugged the shirt all the way on and his head popped out the top hole. “Did you brush your teeth?”

“Yup!”

“Did you use the potty?” Peter had been relatively easy to potty-train according to the horror stories he and Tony had read about in parenting books but sometimes he still forgot to try to go before bed, which resulted either in a late-night bathroom run or waking up to wet sheets.

“Yup!” Running over to his bed, Peter snatched his favorite plushie off of it and ran back over to Steve. “Can you read me a story now?”

“Of course. But how about a short one tonight, okay? We’re all a little tired.” Steve thought that was probably true. Just because he had another motive for finishing up early didn’t mean his first was a lie.

“Okay.” Peter padded over to the small bookcase in his room, his stuffed wolf dangling limply from one arm. Clint had gotten him the toy as a joke but to the Hawk’s chagrin Peter had fallen in love with it and refused to sleep without it. Steve stood and watched with a fond smile as the boy crouched down and pursed his lips together in exaggerated concentration.  Finally he seemed to settle on one of the books and gently tugged it free from the books around it. Holding it up, Peter toddled back over to his bed where Steve was waiting for him. “This?”

A Dr. Suess classic. “That’s perfect.”

Peter smiled and clamored up onto the bed with one hand clutching the book tightly to his chest and the other still keeping a firm hold on his stuffed toy. Steve sat on the edge of the mattress and Peter snuggled up against him, his head resting on the alpha’s lap as his arms wrapped around his stuffed wolf. Smiling down, Steve ruffled his boy’s hair then ran his hand down to scratch lightly on Peter’s back. He hummed happily and pressed even closer, his nose burying into Steve’s cotton shirt as he passed the older Wolf the book.

Steve kept his voice low and calm as he read, the words sounding more like a lullaby than prose, and even though it was a short book Peter’s eyelids were beginning to droop before Steve was even able to reach the last few pages. As he finished, Steve gently closed the book and set it on the small table beside Peter’s bed before carefully lifting his son off so that he could slip off the covers. Peter only yawned and nestled back into his sheets, not needing any more coaxing to settle in. Steve’s expression softened and he leaned down to tuck the covers in around his small body and press a light kiss to the top of his head. “Good night, pup. Sweet dreams.”

Pulling his stuffed wolf closer, Peter yawned widely again before he was able to answer. “’Night, Pop. ‘m glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”

For many reasons.

Their room was dark when Steve stepped back into it and he paused a moment after closing the door behind him to let his eyes adjust. He could smell Tony and the heady musk that had already filled the air. Steve still couldn’t see that well but didn’t need to in order to know that Tony had a smirk on his face as he spoke. “Lose the shirt.”

Steve faltered before a smile spread across his own lips. He reached down to the hem of his shirt and tugged it up over his head. It was impossible to resist flexing a bit, knowing that Tony had to be watching from the bed, as he carefully folded up his shirt and placed it next to the dresser.

“The pants and underwear too, while you’re at it.”

It wasn’t an entirely unexpected demand but it still brought a blush to Steve’s cheeks. “You better be naked over there.” That would only be fair.

“I guess you’ll just have to come over here and check for yourself.”

Steve smirked at the response but did just that and strode across the room fully nude and with the beginnings of arousal spreading through him like a wildfire. He knew the room well enough to make his way to the bed without his sight. He stretched his hands out in front of him as he came closer to the mattress and pulled himself up onto the comforter when the tips of his fingers hit the soft duvet. Pulling in a long breath of air through his nose, he growled appreciatively at the scent of his mate ready and waiting for him. Tony’s hands found his shoulder and guided him up to lie next to him, wasting no time in pressing their lips together.

It started gentle and chaste, half dry press of lips, half breathing in each other’s scents. But soon the kisses were becoming deeper and Steve felt himself growing drunk on Tony’s smell as the Cat nipped at his bottom lip until he parted his lips and their tongues met. It had only been a week but suddenly it felt like it had been forever since Steve had last touched or tasted him. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself but Tony didn’t seem to mind, humming into his mouth as Steve’s hands slid their way down Tony’s sides until he was resting his palms on his mate’s bottom and could pull Tony’s hips in tight against his. Tony swore under his breath and clutched at Steve’s shoulder before he threw one leg over Steve’s hip and made them both gasp as their erections rubbed together.

The momentum from the change in position rolled Steve onto his back and he bit his lip, only letting a muffled grunt escape him, as Tony leaned down and whispered against his ear. “Stay.”

It was a command, the kind that you’d give a dog, but Steve knew it wasn’t meant as an insult and couldn’t help but get excited as another wave of Tony’s alpha pheromones washed over him. The Cat’s smirk grew and he crawled on top of him so that he was straddling Steve’s waist with his hands pressed down onto the mattress on either side of Steve’s head. The look in Tony’s eyes was pure want and it made heat flare up and pool low and hot in his belly.

The next thing Steve knew they were rutting together. The stimulation was nice but it wasn’t enough and Steve growled out as much. Tony only smirked again, the expression shakier this time and belied by the flush in his cheeks. “You’re gonna have to beg for it.”

Steve scowled, his voice graveled and husky already as he let out a protesting groan. “Tony…”

“Discipline, remember?”

“Not going to happen.” It was always like this: half a game, half a real test of wills. Steve gasped as Tony gave a particularly brutal thrust and arched into it but didn’t let himself release the whine that threatened to burst from his throat. They both made sure that it was never malicious but fighting for dominance had become an almost necessary part of their bondings. Maybe it would be simpler if Tony was an omega, if Steve had a mate who was instinctually programmed to roll onto their stomachs and present themselves on his command, and he would be lying if he said that part of him still didn’t find that appealing.

But a bigger part of Steve loved the way Tony challenged him and met every touch, push, and kiss with as much or more power. The way things escalated and they ended up tangled together, pinning each other down and both licking, kissing, and biting everywhere they could reach. It was a different fulfillment, a different kind of rush, and Steve never wanted to be without it again.

Tony was biting and nipping his way down Steve’s neck when the spell was momentarily broken, Steve jerking as Tony’s cell phone chirped from the bedside table. Tony snarled, glared back at it, then ignored it with the complete dismissal only a Cat could muster to return to his assault on Steve’s neck. A few seconds later there was another chirp, followed by another, and on the fourth Tony hissed and threw himself across Steve’s chest to snatch up his phone. Steve thought he was going to answer it until Tony drew his arm back and chucked the phone across the room so hard that it hit the wall with a loud _snap._

Steve lifted an questioning eyebrow as Tony turned back to glower down at him but couldn’t stop a smile from pulling the corner of his lips up when Tony rolled his eyes. “…Probably a solicitor.”

Steve snorted and rested his hands back on Tony’s hips. “I’m sure.”

Tony’s glower slipped off his face at the feeling of his mate’s fingers on his skin. A groan rolled out of Steve’s throat as Tony ground his hips back down. “Sassy…”

Steve gasped as Tony gave a particularly forceful thrust down and his grip tightened on Tony’s hips. It was getting hard to breathe. Everything in him wanted to throw Tony across the bed and fuck him absolutely senseless but he was so desperate from all the teasing that he was pretty much willing to do anything Tony wanted, as long as it brought some _relief_. He hadn’t felt this worked up since their last heat had hit. It almost scared him, what he was willing to do for his mate. “You bring the worst out in me. And the best.”

“And I’m planning seeing both tonight.” Pausing just long enough to wink at him, Tony slunk down Steve’s body, letting his hands drag down his overheated skin.

Steve threw his head back as Tony used his shoulders to nudge his knees farther apart. “God, Tony. Please…!” The ‘please’ slipped out before Steve could stop it but he didn’t have it in him to be upset at that point.

He heard Tony chuckle, dark and dangerous, and the Cat licked a stripe up the inside of Steve’s thighs before wetting down two fingers. “Good boy, keep on begging for me.”

If he had been in his right mind Steve would have called it off at that remark but he was too far gone. After almost two years together Tony knew how to play his body like a fiddle: where to touch, where to lick, where to bite. How to let his scenting oil seep out so that the smell drove Steve crazy. Whether he was taking Tony or, like tonight, Tony took him, the Cat knew just what to do to reduce Steve into a sweating, begging, rutting mess. And Tony was taking way too long prepping him as he slipped one finger in him, and then a second. “Tony, come on!”

Tony grit his teeth. “You know as well as I do this always takes too damn long.” Alphas weren’t bred for patience when it came to sex. What they were meant for were omegas. Omegas who happened to self-lubricate. Even betas—according to Tony—were easier to open up. 

“ _Pardon me, Master Stark, Master Rogers—_ ”

Tony jerked in surprise and Steve yelped as he jammed his fingers in a bit too hard. JARVIS genuinely seemed remorseful as they both looked up at the ceiling. “ _I apologize, sirs. Doctor Banner is requesting your presence downstairs._ ”

Groaning as Tony pulled away, Steve leaned back against his pillow and tried to stop his chest from heaving. “Was, was it Bruce who was calling?”

Tony didn’t answer him, responding to JARVIS instead even as he moved to straddle Steve’s waist again. “Tell Bruce to wait until morning.”

“ _I’m afraid he’s insisting_ _that there is an important matter he needs to discuss with the both of you_.”

Tony met Steve’s eyes, the Cat sitting back on top of Steve’s legs. A silent conversation passed between them. Neither of them really wanted to go but apparently it was important. Steve let out a breath and wishing that he had taken the time to hear Bruce out earlier. “We should go.”

“I knew you were going to say that…” Tony growled but rolled off of Steve. He turned back to take in the view one more time then raised his brows and waved at the erection Steve was still sporting. “Well, you better get _that_ under control before we leave.”

Steve blushed but took the advice to heart and quickly began to think of unappealing things to try and kill his arousal. “What about you?” He wasn’t the only one showing evidence of their tussle.  

But Tony only shrugged as he pulled out an old t-shirt Steve was pretty sure was his and tugged it on. “I don’t care. Bruce gets to see what he gets to see.”

Despite what Tony had threatened he too had gotten his erection down by the time they had made it down the stairs. Bruce was waiting for them in the media room. It looked like only other person still up was Natasha, the redhead tucked into an armchair with her phone. Tony didn’t pay her any mind though and went straight for Bruce, a snarl on his lips but no real heat in his voice. “This better be important. You interrupted—“

Bruce at least had the good graces to look apologetic but cut Tony off before he could finish complaining. “I can smell what I interrupted, you don’t need to explain it. And it is important.” He looked over from his seat on the couch as Natasha silently tucked her phone away and moved to stand and allow them some privacy. “Wait, Natasha, you stay too.”

Now Steve was on guard, an anxious feeling growing in his chest. “What is it, Bruce?”  The way that Bruce had said that made it obvious that he wanted Natasha to be a part of this conversation.  But Steve couldn’t think of any business he and Tony had with Bruce that also involved Natasha but none of the rest of the pack. Natasha looked equally confused which did not bode well. The Spider almost always knew any important news before anyone else.

The beta scooted forward in his seat. His nerves showed by the way he couldn’t keep his hands still, fiddling with his sleeves and adjusting his glasses. Steve glanced over at Tony and saw that his mate’s brows were drawn together. All the earlier playfulness had been wiped from his face to be replaced with a concerned frown as Bruce began to explain. “The project I was working on, I just finished it today. I have been meaning to get around to it for a while now but the weeks just went by so fast…”

Tony interrupted as Bruce began to ramble. “What was your project?”

“Peter. Peter was my project.” Steve sucked in a quick breath. Steve knew Bruce and Tony had both done research on him but he didn’t know Bruce was still at it. What had he found after all these months? Was something wrong with Peter? “Since he has been relatively stable the priority wasn’t very high so I haven’t gotten the chance to really explore his genetics as much as I would have liked to. I’m sure we’ve all had the same thought about the rarity of the genes Peter was spliced with.”

Now Steve knew why Bruce had wanted Natasha to stay. She tensed in the armchair, her eyes narrowing at Bruce. “Cut to the chase.”

“The Spider DNA is yours, Natasha.”

Steve couldn’t believe it. And going off the looks on their faces, neither could Tony or Natasha. The redhead opened her mouth, then pursed her lips, then tried to speak once more. This was the first time that Steve had seen Natasha literally rendered speechless. “How is that possible?”

Bruce sighed. “Somehow they must have gotten your DNA. Can you think of any way that Hydra would have gotten a sample of it?”

She shook her head emphatically. “No. No, not even SHIELD has it.”

Growling, Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “Well they got your DNA somehow.”

Bruce leaned forward, his eyes locked on hers in an intense stare. “A hair sample, a blood sample, anything?”

Steve trusted that Bruce knew what he was talking about but the more he thought about it, the more the pieces just didn’t seem to fit. If Natasha had really been private enough over the years to not even allow SHIELD to have her genetic information he didn’t see how Hydra would have gotten it. It was true that trace evidence might have been left during any one of their missions but, “I find it hard to imagine that the scientists working for Hydra would have gone out looking for a single strand of Natasha’s hair—“

“Wait.” Steve’s jaw snapped shut as Natasha suddenly looked up to reconnect with Bruce’s stare. She had fallen silent for a moment and her eyes had gone out of focus as she delved back into her memory. “I cut my hand.”

“What?” Steve mentally worked back through his own memories to try and recall when Natasha had injured herself.

“I cut my hand on some glass during one of our earlier missions together, when we were hunting down Loki.” Her eyes grew wide. “The cut wasn’t deep so I didn’t give it any thought but—“

“—But they would have had plenty of time afterwards to see the blood and swab it. And there’s a simple test they could have run to check what sort of Shifter the blood came from.” Bruce closed his eyes and raked his fingers back through his graying hair. “It wouldn’t have taken them long to isolate and replicate the DNA sequence with the instruments they had in their labs.”

Steve shook his head. “So the DNA Hydra used on Peter came from Natasha…Are there any others out there with her DNA?”

Bruce’s head bobbed back up. “No. Well,” the beta winced, “none that are still alive. Peter was lucky, there were two other Shifters in the lab who Hydra tried to splice with Spider DNA but it didn’t take.”

Rising to her feet, Natasha paced over to the window, her hands gripping the sill as if to try and stabilize herself. “Is there any way that this makes me legally responsible for him? For Peter?”

“No, not as far as any court would be concerned. Peter is Tony and Steve’s child.”

Steve was just as comforted to hear Bruce’s answer as Natasha was. He knew Tony felt the same as he heard the Cat let out a long breath. And the more Steve thought about it, “It’s odd but, it’s actually a relief to hear.”

Bruce tilted his head. “What is?”

“That the Spider DNA in Peter came from Natasha. At least we know you. And you’re pack, you’re family. In a way it sort of seems like we were meant to adopt Peter.  What were the chances?”

A weak but grateful smile worked its way onto Bruce’s lips. “The chance that the Spider DNA in Peter came from Natasha? About one in three, based off of the statistics SHIELD has on Spider Shifters.”

Tony, who had been oddly quiet until then, finally spoke with a quirk of his lips. “You take the magic out of life.”

Bruce smiled back at him even as hesitation lingered in his expression. “Like you’re one to talk. But you two are okay with that?”

Steve’s answer was immediate. “Of course.” It was how things were; they couldn’t change it so the only thing to do was accept it with open arms.

Nodding his agreement, Tony’s grin widened. “I’m not upset with Natasha, if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s not like she’s going to try to claim custody, are you Mama?”

Natasha narrowed her eyes and even from across the room the glare she sent him could have brought grown men to tears. “You call me that again and I will castrate you.”

Bruce smiled wearily at the exchange before returning his attention to his alphas. “Do you want me to try and explain any of this to Peter?”

Tony and Steve looked at each other. “If he ever asks, we won’t lie to him about it.”

Steve frowned as Natasha fidgeted by the window. “Are _you_ alright with that, Natasha?”

“I…yes, fine. I just don’t want him to think I was actively involved with what happened to him.”

“When he asks— _if_ he asks—we’ll make sure that he knows it.”

With their conversation over, Tony had all but dragged Steve back up to their bedroom. Tony released him as they reached the door and had thrown himself back onto the bed before Steve was able to lock the door behind them.

Tony rolled back under the covers and leaned his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes with a low groan. Steve smiled and crawled onto the mattress to lean over him. Feeling him hover, Tony flicked one eye open to glare up at him. His annoyed expression melted away though as Steve lowered himself down to press their lips together. A rumble rolled up in Tony’s chest and he pressed himself up to meet Steve halfway and teased his tongue into his mate’s mouth. Then he realized what position they were in and growled.

 Steve yelped as Tony broke the kiss and surged forward, knocking him onto his back. He blinked up to find Tony smirking down at him. “I don’t think so…How about we just start where we left off.”

“I’m okay with that.” Tony’s growls slowed to a happy rumble.

Steve huffed out a breath as Tony’s hand found his arousal and stretched his own arms up over his head. Tony chuckled, his voice hot against Steve’s neck. “Not such a bad way to end a job, is it?”

“No…” It really wasn’t, Bruce’s talk included.

He felt Tony smile against his skin and closed his eyes as the Cat began to kiss and lick at his throat between words. “And just think, we have the whole next week to ourselves.”

Oh. Wait. Steve blinked his eyes open. “I forgot to tell you, I invited Phil over for dinner on Thursday.”

Tony froze then seemed to deflate, a large huff of air hitting Steve’s neck as Tony sagged. “You deserve an award for killing the mood.”

Laughing despite himself, Steve nuzzled Tony’s ear. “Sorry. Sorry…I’ll make it up to you.”

“You better.”

Steve’s laughter faded into a warm grin as he tugged Tony back into place. “I will. Come here.”

In Steve’s defense, he did make it up to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note, for those of you who noticed (and even for those of you who didn’t) I’m not going to be mentioning which chapters have “M” rated content anymore like I did with “Chasing the Moon” (unless you’d prefer that I did so). That’s due to the fact that I rated this story “M” from the get-go so I assume you knew what you were getting yourself into when you started. Much thanks to those of you who commented on the last chapter! I realize now the flaw with posting a story as a Christmas present is that very few people log on during the holidays and then said story gets lost in the stream of updates. At least I hope that’s the reason (yikes!). Ah well, onto the next!

The week passed very much the same as any other when the whole pack was home. Tony started going back to the office during the day and took Bruce in with him to continue his projects in Stark Industries R&D department instead of using SHIELDs laboratory facilities. Clint, Natasha, and Steve wrapped up their reports and went back to training for the next. Steve also took over tending to Peter during the day and he relished having the opportunity to do so. Every day was a little adventure and the routine made time rush by.

Before Steve knew it, it was already Thursday and that same daily routine was turned on its head as he now found himself faced with the challenge of getting everything ready for a guest. Clint had volunteered to keep Peter entertained for a few hours but Steve almost wished that he had a bit of a distraction.

Steve let out a breath and rested his hands on his hips as he stared into the fridge. Okay, what was he going to make for dinner? His initial impulse had been steak with a side of potatoes but then he had the thought that as much as Phil might like steak he should probably consider some sort of vegetable as a side-dish. Which was where he was stuck now. Vegetables weren’t really a staple in the house and Steve wasn’t really an expert on how to prepare them for company. He had seen how restaurants did it but to actually execute it himself was a different matter entirely.     

Just as Steve was considering calling Peggy up, Natasha walked into the kitchen behind him. It looked like she had just come in for a glass of water but Steve stopped her before she was even able to reach for the cabinet where the glasses were kept. “What sort of vegetables go with steak and potatoes?”

The redhead gave him an unimpressed look. Unimpressed, but not surprised. “Most of them?” When Steve just continued to stare Natasha sighed and walked over to stand next to him in front of the fridge. “What do we have?”

Steve immediately scooted over to allow her full access to their very sad-looking vegetable drawer. “Uh…a head of broccoli that looks a little old and two carrots.”

“The broccoli is still good, just cut the browner sections off. You can use both the broccoli and the carrots to make up for the parts you trim off.”

Okay, broccoli and carrots could go together. Good. That was a start. “How should I cook them?”

Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes but went ahead and pulled the vegetables out of the crisper. If he had been anyone else in the pack Steve had a feeling that the eye-roll would have been accompanied by a dry insult. “You could steam them or roast them. Here, how about you take care of the steaks and I’ll do the vegetables?”

“Thanks.”

Natasha must have heard the relief in his voice because she smiled as she rolled her sleeves back.

They worked in together in the kitchen for about twenty minutes and it was actually quite nice. Natasha had never been a big talker and Steve appreciated her calm quiet. It took some of the pressure he had been feeling off of his shoulders. Soon it was just like cooking any other dinner, save for the addition of greens, and there was a soft smile on his face when JARVIS announced that Tony and Bruce had made it back home.

Steve heard the front door open and a minute later Tony stuck his head in the doorway of the kitchen, Peter clutched tightly onto his pants. The Cat’s eyes passed from Steve to Natasha before he smirked. “I see the two of you are having fun playing ‘house’ tonight.”

Steve only smiled as Natasha’s grip tightened on the knife she was using to slice up potatoes. When she turned to face Tony his smirk faltered a bit, his gaze instantly zeroing in on the blade. “Why don’t _you_ go upstairs and play ‘CEO’ before I start cutting more than potatoes?”

Tony’s lips twitched down at the barely veiled threat but after a minute he seemed to think better of replying sarcastically. Instead his mouth straightened out and he nodded. “Okay. I’m going to go upstairs and do something CEO-related.”

A part of Steve’s brain was irked by Natasha pointing a knife at his mate but a bigger part of him knew that she wouldn’t actually do anything despite the fact that she was fully capable. He waved as Tony ducked back out of the room and only gave Natasha a short _look_ as they turned back around to face the counter. The redhead smiled and went back to dicing potatoes. “Admit it, you didn’t want him hanging around here heckling us anymore than I did.”

“You might be right.”

They fell back into a comfortable pattern and continued to work side-by-side. More minutes ticked by until JARVIS announced another arrival just as the doorbell rang. “ _Agent Phil Coulson has arrived at the house._ ”

Steve wiped his hands off on a towel, flipped it over his shoulder, and began to walk out of the kitchen but before he reached the doorway the sound of little footsteps raced down the stairs and scampered for the front door. He made it into the foyer in time to see Peter push himself up onto his tip-toes to grab the door handle and pull it open. “Phil!”

The senior agent was standing on the other side of the door in his suit, looking like he had driven over straight from the SHIELD offices.  Seeing Peter’s grin he offered the boy one of his small, calm smiles. “Hello, Peter. How are you doing?”

“Good! Are you gonna eat dinner with us?”

“Yes. Is that alright?” Steve smiled at the man’s question. He had made it sound like he was legitimately asking Peter’s permission. He was almost curious what would happen if his son said ‘no’ but knew that Peter would never give him the chance to find out.

Sure enough, “Yeah! You should come in!”

“Thank you.”

Steve and Phil exchanged a smile and a polite nod as Peter grabbed the man’s hand and tugged him over the threshold into their home. It was rare to see Peter acting this outgoing around a non-pack-member. Usually he was fairly withdrawn and cautious, undoubtedly a product of his terrible experience with Hydra. But it made sense. Peter had known Coulson before he had even met Steve and Tony and his happiness at seeing the SHIELD agent spoke of how much care the man had taken to help all of Hydra’s victims heal. “Hi Phil, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Thank you for having me over. The house looks nice.”

Right. This was the first time Phil had ever been to the Stark Mansion in person. “Thanks—“

Before Steve could continue, Peter bounced up and tugged again on Phil’s hand. “—Pop made me pick up all my toys. You wanna see them? They’re upstairs in my room.”

Steve smiled apologetically at Phil then turned to look at Peter. “Now Peter, I don’t think—“

Steve was interrupted for a second time, but this time by Phil. “It’s okay. I would love to see your toys, Peter.”

Well, Steve had tried to give the agent a way out but it seemed like he hadn’t needed his help. Phil appeared genuinely content to follow Peter up the stairs, the small boy already nearly as strong as the human as he led him back to his room. But there were a few more things Steve had to take care of before dinner got on the table so he meandered his way back into the kitchen.

He offered to take over for Natasha so she could have a little quiet time before the mild chaos of the meal started. There really wasn’t much left to do after all of her early help so she took him up on it and left him on his own to go get cleaned up and enjoy a few more minutes of silence before everyone gathered at the dining table.

Natasha got a few minutes of silence. Steve not so much. It seemed like Natasha had barely made it out of the room before another noise reached his ears. The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the staircase echoed into the kitchen and Steve didn’t even need to look up to know who was coming. Since Thor wasn’t around the only other person who made that much noise was Tony. It was sort of ironic given that Tony was a Panther and _could_ be nearly silent as he walked. He just belligerently chose to do the opposite most days.

Tony slunk into the room, looked around as if to check that Steve was alone, then thumbed back toward the staircase. “Did Peter just kidnap Coulson?”

“It seems like it. But he went pretty willingly.”

Tony snorted and walked across the room only to jump up so that he was sitting on top of the counter next to where Steve was working. “I think that suit is sewn onto his skin.”

“Be nice.”

“’Be nice’?” Tony reached across Steve’s cutting board to where he had pulled the steaks off and was letting them rest. “This is me being nice. I let you invite him over, didn’t I?”

Tony growled as Steve swatted his hands away from the steaks without missing a beat. “Be unusually nice.”

“Then Coulson will just think something’s wrong.”

“True.”

Just like Natasha had warned him, Tony lingered in the kitchen, not helping, just talking. Except she had been wrong about Steve not wanting Tony around. Even like this it was simply nice to be able to have a moment alone with his mate in a simple domestic setting. For that small amount of time it made him feel like what they had was a normal, everyday relationship.  That Tony wasn’t a famous CEO, that they weren’t both active field agents for SHIELD. Those moments didn’t come around too often.

Soon enough though, the food was finished and Steve called everyone to the table after he had Tony help him set the table. Peter was quick to drag Phil back down into the dining room and Clint was right on their heels. Bruce and Natasha arrived not long after.

Phil hummed appreciatively as he took his first bite of the steak Steve had made. “The food is delicious.”

Tony shrugged from his spot next to Steve. “The vegetables are for you.”

“Tony…” Steve frowned and bumped Tony’s leg under the table.  

“As if he hadn’t figured that out already.”

Clint smirked. “Then why did you need to say it?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, birdbrain.”

Clint sat up a little straighter and scowled. “Hey!”

The argument between Tony and Clint wasn’t unusual but Steve still felt the need to lean over to Phil and whisper an apology. “I’m sorry.”

The man gently shook his head and there was still a small smile on his lips. “It’s fine. It’s been a while since I’ve had such lively discussion during dinner so it’s actually kind of nice.”

Setting down her fork, Natasha turned to Coulson with a deadpan expression. “Can we switch dinners?”

Bruce grinned. “Trust me, this is nothing. We’re all on good behavior.”

Across the table Peter sat up a little taller in his booster seat with a wide smile on his face. “I’m being good!”

Steve nodded. “Yes, _you_ are.” Peter was being very good. It was his Dad who was causing most of the problems.

The emphasis Steve had made didn’t escape Tony and the Cat scoffed. “If you think that’s all it’s going to take to shame me into keeping my mouth shut you have another thing coming.”

Steve knew that better than anyone but kept that to himself. Sometimes the best way to win a fight with Tony was to simply not engage. Usually if he didn’t get the sort of reaction he wanted he’d get bored and move on. In this case Steve’s strategy was somewhat thrown off by the fact that Clint was there to continue to rile Tony up but it didn’t get too out of hand. Despite what Tony had said they clearly were both behaving better than they would have had a guest not been present.

Phil appeared to enjoy himself throughout the meal though and when it was finished and everyone began to excuse themselves from the table, Steve caught the man’s eye and was happy to find that the agent seemed in no real rush to leave.

Tony was another matter. The Panther was one of the first ones to jump up from the table and barely remembered to clear away his dishes before brushing by Steve as he headed out of the dining room. “I’m going down to the shop.”

Steve wasn’t surprised that Tony wasn’t sticking around to help him entertain Coulson. Phil was more of Steve’s guest anyway and he figured that Tony’s way of contributing was not asking Steve to get rid of him. “Alright. Do you have a project going or…?”

Steve let his voice trail off in question. Tony shook his head and seemed to understand what Steve was really asking. “Not right now. You can have JARVIS call me when you’re heading to bed.” If Tony had been working on a project there would have been a chance that the Cat might not have made it back to bed at all that night. When Tony was just down there tinkering he usually came up to their bedroom pretty willingly.

“Good.”

Peter perked up in his chair. “Can I come with you, Dad?”

Tony paused and really thought for a moment—probably trying to remember if there was anything dangerous lying about in his workshop—before he shrugged and nodded. “Sure, for a little while. Then it’ll be time to get you up to bed according to your Pop’s schedule.”

“Aww!”

“I know, I know. It’s totally unfair. Your Pop’s a tyrant.”

Steve wanted to frown at Tony but couldn’t quite muster the strength to force the small smile off his face as Tony bent down and scooped Peter up out of his booster seat. The rest of the pack didn’t take too long to disperse after that, Bruce taking a few more minutes to make sure all the dishes were put away. Clint lingered a bit, possibly waiting around to eavesdrop on what Steve and Phil were going to talk about, but Natasha dragged him away to give them a little one-on-one time. Honestly, Steve wouldn’t have minded if the Hawk—or any of them—stayed. They weren’t going to talk about anything confidential. But a part of him did appreciate it. He liked talking with Phil and it wasn’t often they had the chance to speak in a non-business setting.

Steve turned back to the man in question and motioned towards the door. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting a bit we could head into the living room to go over that paperwork.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

But while they were still near the kitchen, “Can I get you get you some coffee first?”  Wolves weren’t always known to have great manners but Steve could try to be a good host.

Phil looked startled at the offer before a small, happy smile slipped onto his face. “Yes, please.”

Steve smiled in return. He had enough practice with Tony’s overly-complicated coffee machine over the years that it didn’t take him more than a few minutes to have two mugs full of regular coffee ready to go and he was able to lead Phil across the main floor of the house to one of the front rooms designed more for entertaining guests. All Steve cared about though was that it was a little bit away from the noisier areas of the house and had a comfortable couch.

Motioning for Coulson to take a seat, Steve set his mug down on the coffee table then waved back towards the foyer. “Let me go grab the papers.” He had them up in the bedroom. He had wanted to review them one more time last night before he went to bed, just to make sure that everything was in order before he officially turned the report over to SHIELD.

Steve came back downstairs to find Phil sitting on the couch exactly where he had left him, sipping contentedly at his coffee as he waited for it to cool. Taking the seat next to him on the couch, Steve passed the folder over to the SHIELD agent. “Here’s my report from the Cincinnati mission.”

“Thank you.” Setting the folder on his lap, Phil seemed happy to momentarily ignore work and gazed instead at a large framed photograph hanging on the far side of the room. It was a picture of the whole pack from last autumn. Pepper had taken it during one of the last barbeques they had before the weather had turned. Everyone, even Thor and Loki, had been there that day and somehow Pepper had gotten them all to stand still long enough to get them all in frame for the photo. Even Peter who had been constantly on the move and who hadn’t wanted to stand still for anything. “Peter is doing very well.”

“I think so.” Steve hoped so. He and Tony, and everyone else, they were all doing their best.

Phil turned away from the photo to meet Steve’s eyes with a calm confidence that instantly set all of Steve’s uncertainties at ease. “He is. He is well adjusted, he’s settled in, he’s comfortable with not just you and Tony but everyone else in your pack. It’s obvious that he’s been given anything a boy his age could hope for.”

Steve knew that part was true. Maybe a little too true sometimes. Shaking his head, Steve grabbed his own coffee cup off of the table and used it to try and hide the dry smile that he couldn’t keep off of his lips. “Tony’s very good about buying him everything he could need, though we’re trying not to spoil him too much.”

“I wasn’t just talking about physical objects. You’ve taken him in as your own, provided him with love and security. I never had any doubts but it is good to see.”

So that’s what he had meant. Steve nodded thoughtfully. They have given Peter a lot but Peter had given back, even if the boy didn’t realize it. He had filled a need in Steve’s heart and in his Wolf’s soul. Peter might not be their biological child but Steve loved him as much as if he were. “He really has become like our son. He is a great kid; I can’t imagine life without him anymore.”

“I’m glad he made it through.” Phil tilted his head then leaned in closer to Steve as his voice fell almost to a whisper. “We’re never supposed to have favorites in any sense at SHIELD, but out of all of the Shifters we saved from Hydra, Peter had always a bit special to me ever since they all regained consciousness. It is a real pleasure to see him doing as well as he is.”

Steve could feel the sincerity in Phil’s words but what he had said was sobering. Steve never forgot where Peter had come from and how he had come to them but the mention of Hydra and all the others they had in their custody brought back such a strong memory of finding all of Hydra’s victims in that lab that Steve could almost taste the antibacterial stench that had hung heavy in the air.

He must have fallen silent for a moment and was brought back to the present when Phil softly nudged his leg. “There’s something else on your mind.”

It wasn’t a question so much as a statement and Steve couldn’t deny that it was true. “Yes, there is…How are the rest of the children doing? Have they all found homes?” It still bothered Steve to know that while they had given Peter a home there were still multiple others who SHIELD had been trying to place in safe, caring environments.

“Yes. In fact, the majority of them were placed into a single foster home.”

“Really?” Steve couldn’t even imagine--“Who took them in?”

“It was one of the adults who Hydra also had captured and experimented on. He ended up mating with one of the other adults during our rehabilitation program here at SHIELD and together they decided to house the kids who weren’t quickly being placed in homes.”

“Can two people really take care of that many children? Peter is wonderful, but dealing with the fallout of what Hydra did to him isn’t always easy for the whole pack, and he’s just one person.” Even if they were all well behaved and well-adjusted they would all have special needs as far as the care they would require.

Phil nodded in agreement. “I had the same thought, as did my supervisors. But he came from a wealthy family in England and has the resources to do it. We still send agents over to check on everyone’s well-being but so far they seem to be doing alright.”

Steve perked up. “Could you get me their information? I’d really like to go check on them.”

It didn’t take long for Phil to catch on to what Steve’s plan was. “As a SHIELD agent you do have the authority to access the information but I have to remind you that this is all confidential and sensitive material. I don’t want their identities getting out into the public, just like I’m sure you don’t want Peter’s name to be associated with Hydra.”

“No” That was the last thing any of them wanted. Tony had been hesitant enough to tell the media that Peter was a Shifter; neither of them had any desire to tell them about Peter’s past. It was something private that they didn’t want anyone to ever use against him. They decided to leave it up to Peter as he grew older who he wanted to tell his story to. “You don’t have to worry, I’ll absolutely respect their privacy.”

“I know you will.” Phil paused for a moment then reached into the pocket in his suit and pulled out his smart phone. A few seconds later he pulled up a picture of a young man and handed it to Steve to get a better look at. “His name is Charles Xavier and his mate’s name is Erik.”

Steve’s brows rose as he scrolled through what turned out to be Xavier’s SHIELD file. “They’re both men?”

Phil smiled at that. “You and Tony aren’t the only homosexual Shifter couples out there. They are also both Wolves, Erik is an alpha and Charles is an omega.”

Steve’s brows rose further still. “An omega? It’s been a while since I’ve been around one of them.” Omegas were rare among Wolves. Steve had never had one in his pack or had ever been personally acquainted with one but he occasionally would encounter an omega Wolf in his day-to-day life. As an alpha it was always a bit of a jarring experience to catch their scent.

Phil kept his smile but there was a serious glint in his eyes as he took his phone back. “Mind yourself when you’re over there. From what I remember, Erik is rather protective of Charles and I can’t imagine that’s changed since they left SHIELD’s care.”

“Of course.” If Charles was already mated it would be easier to ignore some of that instinctual draw.

“Then I can probably arrange a meeting between you.”

“That would be great.”

Their conversation fell to a lull and they both sensed that Phil’s visit was over. Making sure to collect the file Steve had brought down for him, Phil rose to his feet and Steve was quick to do the same. “Thank you very much for inviting me for dinner, Steve. It was an unexpected offer but very appreciated.”

“Feel free to drop by anytime. “

“Thank you, but—“

Steve interrupted before the man was able to offer too much protest. “I mean it. You’re a member of this, admittedly unconventional family.  We’re always happy to have you.”

Phil opened his mouth again then decided against whatever he had been about to say. Instead he just offered Steve one more smile that reached all the way to his eyes. “Thank you.” This time Steve could tell that the agent genuinely meant it.

Steve led the agent to the door and waved him goodbye. Once he made sure the man had made it to his car and was heading off, Steve walked back inside then smiled. “JARVIS, can you let Tony know that—you know what? Never mind. I’m just going to talk to him myself.”

“ _Very good, Sir_. _I will unlock the workshop for you._ ”

“Thanks.”

Steve jogged down the steps to Tony’s workshop. Sure enough, JARVIS had kept his word and unlocked the door for him, the glass panel sliding open as Steve approached it. Tony had his music on like usual but it was relatively quiet, the beats softly thrumming through the air and almost overshadowed by the television. The news lit up the large screen at the closest end of the room but Steve didn’t pay it too much attention.  A quick scan of the workshop showed that Tony himself was near the center of the cavernous room where he had pulled over three tables and had a variety of small mechanical parts scattered across them. He was alone so he must have sent Peter back upstairs at some point during Steve and Phil’s talk which was probably for the best since it was already getting late.

His mate had glanced up as soon as the door slid open but had already returned his attention back to his work by the time Steve had started to walk over to him. “Phil just left.”

The Cat snorted. “He took his time.”

“We were talking.”

“Uh-huh…”

“He’s going to facilitate a meeting between us and another couple who adopted the other children from Hydra.”

“Uh-huh…”

Steve frowned and leaned up against one of Tony’s workbenches. “Are you listening to me or are you just answering back with a vague response whenever I stop talking for a moment?”

“Uh-huh.”

Sighing, Steve put his hand on his hip. “I can’t tell if you’re not listening or if you’re just being difficult now. _Tony_.”

That got his attention. Tony spun back around to look at him with an annoyed scowl on his face. “ _What_?”

“Phil’s going to arrange a meeting between us and the two other Shifters who adopted the majority of the children Hydra had.”

“What? Why?”

That answered his question if Tony had been listening earlier. “Because I want to meet them. I want to know how they and the children are doing. So we’re going.”

“How did _I_ get involved with this?”

“Because you’re my mate.”

Tony gave him a flat look before his eyes caught on something over Steve’s shoulder. Steve turned to look back and saw that the news had switched over to a new story. And this one had a fancy graphic pasted between the two news anchors calling it “The Shifter Dilemma”.

Tony stepped forward to stand next to Steve and nodded towards the screen. “J, turn up the volume on that thing will you?”

“ _Of course_ , _Sir_.”

Almost instantly the large room filled with the voice of the lead female anchor and they watched as the camera cut to a pan over a normal looking row of suburban houses.  “ _—and one local resident has taken notice. He, his wife, and three children had been living in their suburban neighborhood for almost fifteen years when suddenly everything changed. The house next door went up for sale and two months later its new owner moves in, and, as it turned out, they were anything but normal. For weeks he didn’t suspect anything was wrong until one night he saw the new owner’s child playing out in his backyard and watched as the little girl shifted into a young Wolf.”_

Steve tensed as the picture jumped to a pre-recorded interview with the man in question. _“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They seemed so normal. But when I saw the girl shift I knew the mom and dad had to be Wolves too.”_

The camera cut back to the view of the houses as the news anchor narrated. _“Before he was able to speak with the girl her mother had pulled her back into the house but he wasn’t going to pretend the incident had never happened.”_

The image jumped back to the man and he looked very excited, his expression drawn tight with righteous indignation. _“So I grab my gun, just to be safe, you know? And I walk next door and knock on the door. The dad opened it and I swear I’d never been so scared in my life now that I knew what he was. But I had my family to think about, you know? So I ask him point blank if he was a Shifter and he was still trying to lie to me, saying he was human. But now that I knew I could tell just from looking in his eyes that he was a Wolf.”_

The camera cut back to the newsroom where the two anchors gave each other concerned, consolatory looks. _“The man called the city but they say there’s nothing they can do as long as his new neighbors don’t break any real laws. According to our latest correspondence the man has become so frustrated that he is now considering moving_.”

Tony waved his hand and the audio cut off, instantly replaced again by his music. There was a heavy frown on his face and an angry look in his eyes. “That’s disgusting.”

Steve nodded. He couldn’t disagree. It really was disgusting. That man had confronted his neighbor with what was undoubtedly a loaded weapon and the poor Shifter, knowing that his wife and daughter had been seen, was so frightened that he had desperately lied to try and ensure his safety. And the police, who had probably only gotten the human’s side of the story, hadn’t done anything to protect the Shifter family that was actually being threatened.

Tony angrily searched through the pile of loose parts on the table in front of him before giving up and crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t get it. That human asshole shouldn’t have cared in the first place but I don’t see why the Wolf would have even bothered to pretend they were human too. Just let that dick deal with it or move.”

Steve couldn’t stop a smart remark from slipping passed his lips. “Yeah, why would anyone pretend to be human?”

It was a low-blow and they both knew it. Tony’s eyes narrowed and the ways they flashed would have made Steve regret what he had said if he hadn’t meant it. “Hey, I’m different. And we’ve talked about this.”

“I know.” They had talked about it extensively but what it came down to was that Tony was doing what he felt he needed to both for himself and for his company. Steve didn’t always like the choice his mate made but he respected it and so tried to support Tony as best he could. And despite the fact that Tony had just poked a hole in his own reasoning Steve didn’t want to start up a new debate right then. It was too late in the day for that and he didn’t want them going to bed mad at each other. “How about we just turn in for the night? Are you at a decent stopping point?”

Tony heaved a breath and Steve could tell he wasn’t the only one happy that the conversation hadn’t devolved into an argument. “It’s as good a stopping point as any. Let’s just go to bed.”

O~O~O~O~O

Tony raised a condescending brow as the GPS led them further back into the gently sloping hills near Westchester, New York until Steve finally turned down a side-road and up to a large gate. From the look of the gate itself and the hint of the manor home he could see through the bars it looked like one of those old-money estates that Tony had always scoffed at. It was the sort of society that—despite the amount of money and prestige they had—the Stark family was never able to fit into. Howard had earned all of his money through hard work and ingenuity; it hadn’t been passed down to him through innumerous generations. Tony had never minded the new-money label. He had actually been proud of the fact that his father and he had earned everything they owned through their own blood, sweat, and genius intellects rather than inheriting it from some lord or duke from “the Old Country”. But faced now  with the admittedly impressive gate, Tony had to give it to this Xavier guy that there was a certain aura that wealth alone couldn’t replicate.

Steve rolled down the window and dialed in an access code SHIELD had sent to them. As promised, the gate swung open and they drove through. As he rolled his window back up, Steve glanced over at Tony with a small frown on his face. “I still don’t see why you need to shut your scent off.”

Tony subconsciously adjusted his suit jacket. It was one of the few he owned that he stored separate from his main wardrobe, sealed off from the scents in the rest of the house. He pulled it out whenever he thought he might be meeting with a Shifter and didn’t want them sniffing him out. As it happened, it was the same one he wore when he had first met Steve but Tony didn’t expect the Wolf to remember that. “We don’t know these people. What if they run to the press to sell me out as a Shifter?”

“But they’re Shifters too.”

Tony huffed. “You think that makes them saints?”

“No. But they should be more understanding.”

“They should be but I’m not gonna bet on it. I think being Tony Stark, billionaire philanthropist is enough.” Tony knew that Steve was probably right. After Steve had alerted him to this little meet-and-greet he and Coulson had set up, Tony had immediately jumped on the internet and then on the SHIELD database which honestly needed to have its firewall updated. It hadn’t changed at all since he broke in over a year ago.

The basics of what he learned matched what Coulson had explained to Steve. Both Xavier and his mate were victims of Hydra’s experimentations and had been fucked up by it just like Peter had. Tony hadn’t looked too much into what had happened to them because he didn’t want those mental images in his head but whatever Hydra had done had left Xavier wheelchair bound. Xavier seemed like he had been a pretty interesting guy before Hydra had gotten their claws into him though. He was an omega but was apparently smart enough and persistent enough to earn a PhD from Oxford so he had joined Bruce in a very exclusive club of Wolves with advanced degrees.

His mate was a little more typical on paper. Erik Lensherr was of German ancestry and like many other alpha Wolves had gone into the Army.  During their recovery process Erik—according to SHIELD’s files—had become almost obsessively possessive of Charles and the two had soon after sealed the deal when Charles went into heat and Erik basically busted down the doors of SHIELD’s medical ward to get to him.  Judging by what they had been through and the way they had determinedly kept a low-profile afterwards, Tony was sure the last thing that they would want to do was bring the spotlight on themselves by outing him as a Panther but it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

When they pulled up the long driveway there were already two figures—one standing tall and the other peacefully sitting in a wheelchair—waiting for them out in front of a stone-covered mansion.  The thing looked like a castle. It was actually pretty ridiculous, and that was saying something coming from him. As they got closer it seemed like their hosts had similar feelings about their car if their tight expressions was anything to go by. Despite Steve’s protests Tony had insisted that they take the red sports car that he had upgraded to have all the best add-ons. Because the best first impression was a memorable one and he had a reputation to live up to.

Steve parked and they stepped out to head directly over to their hosts. Tony lingered behind to observe as Steve strode straight towards the other Wolves. Even from where he was standing, Tony could smell them. Panthers weren’t as notorious for following their noses as Wolves were but the scents would have been impossible for any Shifter to miss and hung in the air in thick layers. It was very obvious that Xavier’s family had been Shifters for a long time and that they had lived on the property for generations. It put Tony on edge and he ran a mental check to make sure the walls guarding his own scent were holding strong.

He didn’t let any of his discomfort show on his face though and strolled behind Steve with as much confidence as his mate genuinely possessed. Steve was already making introductions and shaking hands with Xavier and Lensherr so Tony got in line to do the same. Xavier looked sweet and gentle up close but there was a sharp intelligence in his eyes that Tony immediately recognized because he had seen the same glint in his own eyes. Tony wasn’t very familiar with omega Shifters but there was definitely a unique aura around him. Erik Lensherr was almost his mate’s opposite. He was tall with dark hair and darker eyes. Where the air almost felt soft around Xavier, walking within feet of Erik felt like running face first into a metal plate. It knocked Tony off balance as he tried to figure out why Steve had always smelled so enticing when this other alpha Wolf’s scent was downright unpleasant.

Erik’s smile was stiff and cold and his handshake wasn’t much different. He seemed to completely disregard Tony as soon as they were introduced, not at all impressed by his celebrity status or wealth, but instead kept his eyes trained on Steve with feigned disinterest. But he couldn’t have been more obvious if he tried.

Erik was clearly displeased with having another alpha Wolf in his home and watched every move Steve made when he was greeting Charles. Tony congratulated himself on his excellent decision to close off his scent as he moved to greet Xavier; who knew how unwelcoming their host would be if he learned he was inviting _two_ alphas into his house?

They were escorted into his home and Tony was impressed not by the interior, as opulent as it was, but rather by the fact that Steve wasn’t gawking. Apparently he had gotten a little jaded since they had started living together. But the more Tony watched Steve the more he realized that although he wasn’t craning his head around to look at the carved banister on the grand staircase they passed or the clawed-foot, marble-topped hall table, Steve’s gaze was locked on something else entirely. Or, to be specific, a certain someone else.

Steve and Xavier kept the silence at bay by keeping up small talk as they were led towards a formal sitting room. The omega’s English accent seemed far too appropriate for the setting and Tony had the sudden urge to find a way to ruin the spell the Wolf was casting. He certainly didn’t feel like contributing to the conversation and it looked like neither did Erik. The sullen alpha Wolf motioned for them to sit when they reached a beautifully upholstered couch sitting across from an equally beautifully made chair with a low-standing dark mahogany table resting in between. Tony flopped down into the seat offered to him and just barely managed to keep from swinging his feet up onto the table but it was more out of respect for the furniture than his hosts.

They had just all sat down when Xavier sat up a bit straighter and blinked. “Ah, I forgot to prepare something to drink. Erik? Can you come with me to the kitchen?”

“Of course.” The answer had come immediately and Erik turned back to give them a frigid smile. “Stay here.” Xavier’s accent was charming but even Tony had to admit that the undercurrent of a continental European upbringing made Erik’s voice smooth as silk. It would have been much better suited on a Panther or a Lion. It was wasted on a dog.

Tony glanced over and narrowed his eyes and watched as Steve’s hands tightened on his knees when Xavier wheeled back out from behind the table.  Erik rose to his feet as well and followed close behind his mate but the way Steve tracked Xavier with his eyes made it seem like Steve wished _he_ was the one guarding the omega instead. Tony’s eyes narrowed even more and as soon as the other two Wolves were out of the room Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t like him…”

Tony knew Steve knew which ‘him’ he was talking about. Steve huffed out in annoyance and kept his voice quiet. “We’ve barely even met them.”

“Then stop _looking_ at him like that. I’m sitting right here.”

“I’m not looking at him like anything.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Really, you’re going to say that to my face?”

“Tony, yes.” Steve growled before wiping his hands down his khaki pants and folding them defensively over his chest. “It’s just, been a while since I’ve been around an omega.”

And it was clear that it was having an effect on Steve. His nose hadn’t stopped twitching since they sat down and he looked like he was five seconds away from panting like an overheated dog. “It’s also been a while since I punched you, but I’m about to settle that one out really quickly.”

Steve frowned and opened his mouth to respond but before he could get a word out they both heard the sound of their hosts returning echoing down the hall and his jaw snapped shut.

Tony heaved a sigh as Xavier and Erik walked—or in Xavier’s case, rolled—back into the room. Xavier was all apologetic smiles as he cleared a spot on the table for Erik to set down the silver tray he was carrying. “I’m sorry for the wait. Tea?” Tea? Seriously? Was he trying to win an award for being British?

Steve sprang up in his seat with more enthusiasm than a man who hadn’t taken a drink in three days would show. “Please, thank you.”

Tony declined the cup Xavier offered him with a dismissive shake of his head. “I’m more of a coffee guy.” And so was Steve, the kiss-ass.

Once everyone but Tony had a cup of tea in their hands they were able to get down to business. And Tony was all too ready to get it over with. “So, I think we all know why we’re here.” And they better all remember it.

Erik cast Tony an indifferent glance. He might as well have been a bug on the wall for the amount of care the Wolf paid him. “Of course we do. You are here for the same reason every other SHIELD agent has ever visited. To ensure that we are not _abusing_ the children we have taken into our guardianship.”

By the tone of Erik’s voice it was obvious their experience with SHIELD hadn’t always been an entirely pleasant one. No surprise there. They could be overbearing. “Yeah, that and to make sure they aren’t totally running the place. You Hydra experiments can be hard to handle.”

Steve and Erik both snarled out a warning but Xavier just tilted his head. “Do you have experience in such things?”

“A bit.” Almost twenty three months now, but who was counting?

“I didn’t realize that your philanthropy extended so far, Mr. Stark.”

“It does when your,” Tony’s voice stuttered. He had been about to say ‘mate’. But that would have ruined the whole reason behind hiding his scent in the first place. “…when your partner is the one who saved all of you.”

Xavier’s mouth fell open and Erik’s eyes sharpened as a memory sparked. He turned his gaze onto Steve who didn’t do anything to deny the charge. “So that is where I heard your name. Agent Steve Rogers. I read it in the reports SHIELD gave me about the raid.”

It said a lot that the two other Wolves hadn’t connected those dots before. _Everyone_ , human and Shifter, knew that Steve had been part of that raid. No one knew that Tony had been too, but that was beside the point. The media had made a big deal out of Steve’s heroism that day and if Xavier and Erik didn’t remember any of it that didn’t mean that they were stupid. It just meant that they had been so deeply involved in their own recovery that they hadn’t been conscious enough at the time to realize what was happening in the wider world.

Tony answered for Steve. “That’s right. So where are they, anyway? I figured this whole house would be swarming with special needs Shifter kids.”

Xavier only smiled. “I prefer to call them ‘gifted’.”

“I bet you would…”

Erik narrowed his eyes and growled at Tony. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand _anything_ about what we went through.”

“Erik…” Xavier quieted his mate with a gentle touch. “And I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Tony smirked as the alpha’s glowered. But inside he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the omega’s natural ability to calm Erik. It was definitely something else…If Steve had tried that with him it would have just led into a loud argument.

“The children are at school and the younger ones are currently upstairs taking a nap. We have a friend watching them. You see, Mr. Stark, while Erik and I are the main caregivers, we have been lucky enough to create a strong network of friends and acquaintances who provide us with the support we need to make sure that every child we have is well cared for. Admittedly the manor has turned into more of a boarding home than a family house but we are able to provide them with structure in a caring, protective environment. It is my goal to help each and every one of them to grow into themselves and their changed abilities in a healthy way knowing that Erik and I understand precisely the struggles they are going through. But it seems that we’re out of tea.”

Erik immediately made to rise to his feet but Xavier stilled him with a slight wave of his hand. “Mr. Stark, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping me in the kitchen?”

Tony snorted and Steve kicked him under the table. Tony bit back a snarl then rolled his eyes. Apparently since Steve was the one who was ‘out’ about being an alpha that meant he was going to be the one relegated to kitchen duty.

Tony reluctantly stood and trudged in after Xavier, eying the rest of the house as the omega led them to the kitchen. It was a ways away from the sitting room, the layout of the manor probably still a hold-over from when the kitchen was in the part of the mansion dedicated to servants. When they got there though the cooking space had been entirely overhauled to a functional, modern kitchen. Looking around, Tony could see parts of it that had clearly been modified for Xavier when he returned to try and accommodate his wheelchair.

 “I can refill the pot but the extra tea is in that cupboard. Could you reach it for me?”

“Sure.” Tony didn’t really want to but he wasn’t a complete dick.  Besides, the way he figured it by doing the omega a favor it gave him license to ask a couple of questions.

Mentally cursing the fact that he had to stretch to reach the tea, Tony managed to snag it. “So,” closing the cabinet, Tony handed Xavier the bag of loose leaf tea, “why did you really take in the kids?”

Xavier met his eyes for a moment before leaning over the stove to grab the kettle and refill the teapot. “The experiments Hydra performed on me left me sterile. Even as a male, as an omega it would have been possible for me to have a family but now…” he knit his brows then shook his head. “A family is all I ever wanted. I didn’t have one of my own growing up, you see. When Erik came to me I knew together he and I might still be able to make my dream a reality, even if the children we raised weren’t our own. When I heard of the children needing a home it seemed as if fate was on our side.”              

Tony fell silent for a minute as the Wolf fussed with the tea and the teapot. He didn’t really have anything smart to say about that. He could hear the hurt in Charles’s voice and didn’t want to think about what it would be like for an omega who couldn’t have children. As an alpha, he couldn’t even imagine it. So Tony changed the topic. “What did Hydra do to you, anyway?”

Charles paused before setting the tea pot down on the counter. “Many things. I don’t even remember it all, the list was so extensive. But I came away unable to shift but more…empathetic.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The omega pursed his lips. “Omegas—Wolves at least—have always been excellent at reading emotions, of feeling what others feel in a sort of sympathetic bond. Whatever Hydra did to me, it amplified this trait in me.”

Tony raised a brow. “Meaning?”

Charles raised his eyes again to meet his gaze. “Put simply, Mr. Stark, it has developed to the point where I no longer even need to see or smell a person to know what they are feeling. To know exactly what emotions are going through their heads down to the point where I have surpassed simply being empathetic and have become an empath. Essentially, if I focus hard enough I can read minds.”

Was he making fun of him? But he looked so serious. “I don’t understand how that’s even possible.”

“Neither do I. But it is nevertheless true.”

“Bullshit.”

“I wish it was. Just as dearly as you wish society could accept you for who _you_ truly are.”

Tony tensed and he felt the walls he was keeping up shudder. “What did you say?”

“I’m sorry.” The Wolf held up his hands. “I try not to do it without permission, but it seemed as if the only way to show you was a direct demonstration. You needn’t worry though, I have no interest what so ever in revealing to anyone that you are a Cat.”

“I’m not—“

“Just as I have no interest in your mate. I am quite happy in my current relationship.”

“That doesn’t prove anything. You could have gotten into SHIELD’s files.” And he couldn’t have missed the way that Steve was looking at him. That made a lot more sense than Charles mind-reading his insecurities.

“The files are encrypted. No one can access them without the proper authorization.”

“I can.”

Charles paused again and then his eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t have to be telepathic to hear the truth in Tony’s words. But then his shock settled out into a pleased little smile Tony couldn’t even begin to interpret. “I’ll have to remember that.”

Sensing  that they were done, Tony grabbed the tea pot off of the counter and they made their way back towards their respective mates. They remained quiet but Tony perked up as his ears caught voices drifting into the hall from the sitting room.

“Dare I ask what you are doing with a man like Stark?”

They were talking about him. Oh, this was bound to be good.

“There’s a lot more to him than you think.”

“He’s _human_.”

Erik had spit the word out as if it was a curse. Next to him Charles blushed a pretty shade a pink and opened his mouth to murmur an apology but Tony waved it off. He wasn’t that bothered by it. He had certainly been called worse. He just hadn’t realized how much Erik hated humans, and by extension what he was pretending to be. But it made some sense. Even without knowing anything about the Wolf’s interactions with humans before Hydra it had probably mostly been human researchers who had played Picasso with his genetic code and broke his future mate’s legs. Erik and Steve both had to hear and smell that they were coming at that point but if Erik thought he was human then he wouldn’t know that Tony would be able to eavesdrop.

Steve did though. “No matter what he is, Tony is the best mate I could have asked for.”

“To each their own. But you are a strong enough alpha to have attracted any omega you could have wanted.”

“And I still chose him.”

Tony felt a warm feeling well up in his chest despite himself then stiffened up as he saw a pleased look wash over Charles’s own face. Damn mind readers. Xavier chuckled then wheeled out.  As soon as he appeared he immediately had Erik’s attention. “You two were gone for a while.”

Charles gave a small shrug. “We were just having a chat.”

Erik and Steve both looked surprised, one of Erik’s eyebrows rising imperiously. “About?”

“This and that. The children mostly.”

Satisfied that the omega was going to keep their little heart-to-heart quiet—at least for the moment—Tony played along and redirected the conversation. “And what have you two been doing with yourselves?”

Steve gave him a look that said ‘You know perfectly well what we were doing’ but what actually came out of his mouth was “Nothing much.”

“Huh. Would have thought that the two of you would have had more in common, what with both of you being alphas and Wolfy and everything.”

Steve sighed but a small smile still played on his lips as Tony sat down so close to him that their legs pressed together and their shoulders bumped. After that, their talk settled out to the logistics of raising children and dealing with the trauma that they went through. Unlike before, Tony allowed the others to take over control of the conversation and was relatively content to fall into the background. Steve was good about keeping him involved just enough, especially when Erik unconsciously—or intentionally, it was hard to tell—cut him out.

Their meeting was only supposed to last an hour and when it started Tony was sure that it was going to feel like a lifetime. But before he knew it Charles looked down at his watch and said that the older kids would be coming back from school soon and Tony and Steve took it as their cue to leave.

They were walked back to the front door and Steve bowed his head a little too deep when he said his good-byes to Charles. “It was very nice to meet you, Charles.”

His nod to Erik was much smaller but no less sincere. “Erik.” They shook hands and as soon as Steve let go, Erik immediately reached down to wrap his arm around Charles shoulders and his omega folded into him. That suited Tony just fine. In his mind it wouldn’t do Steve any harm to figure out that Xavier was off limits.

Tony didn’t bother shaking hands, just slipped his sunglasses on and flipped his hand up in a lazy wave. “Take care of those kids.”

Xavier nodded back as they walked out the door. “We will, Mr. Stark. We’re counting on you to do the same with yours.”

Steve looked back over his shoulder and almost seemed to grudgingly follow Tony back to the car. Tony rolled his eyes and jumped into the driver’s seat and had the engine revved before Steve even slid his butt all the way into the passenger’s seat. He had started to almost like Xavier at the end there but he would definitely be happy if they didn’t see either of the other Wolves for another year or two or three.

Steve still seemed entranced as Tony pulled them back onto the main highway headed for home but Tony couldn’t bring himself to snap his mate out of it. He just sat there and glared at the road.

After almost half an hour of driving Steve finally seemed to realize something was off and blinked over at Tony. “You’re quiet.”

Tony sneered. “I wonder why.”

“Are you going to tell me or do I just have to guess?”

“You have to guess?”

Steve sighed. “Are you still worked up over the fact that Charles is an omega?”

“Got it in one, give the man a prize.”

“I’m _not_ interested in him. Most of all because he’s mated.”

“’Most of all’?” Tony’s fingers tightened on the wheel. “If he wasn’t mated, would you have gone for him?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I know something…” Tony grumbled under his voice.

But of course Steve caught it. “Are you doing this just to be difficult?”

“No. I have many, many other ways to be difficult.”

“I don’t want you to be upset with me for something you believe I was thinking.”

“Fine.” They both knew it wasn’t fine but Steve seemed all too willing to let the matter drop. But that was alright. It just gave Tony the time he needed to think about how to get him back.

O~O~O~O

By the time they got back to the house the sun had set over an hour ago and the stillness that had settled over his property stood in sharp contrast to the sparks racing through Tony’s skin. He was still mad but more than that he was horny as hell because he had figured out how to make sure that he was going to be the only one Steve thought about tonight.

Natasha gave them each a once over as they walked inside and pursed her lips. “So, how’d your meeting go?”

“It went well.”

“Fine.”

They had answered simultaneously and Steve glared at Tony’s dismissive tone.

 Natasha smirked. “I’m glad it went ‘well’. Before you go off to do…whatever you’re going to do I’ll go ahead and let you know that Bruce got Peter to bed about half an hour ago. I just checked in on him and he’s sound asleep.”

Perfect. “Great. Thanks. Now if you wouldn’t mind…” Tony made a shooing motion with his hand. Steve’s eyes widened at his sheer gall and Natasha raised a brow. But she seemed willing to amuse him for the evening and sauntered back towards the media room.

Steve rounded on him. “What was that about?

“Don’t worry about it.”

Sighing, Steve shook his head and turned back around to follow after Natasha. “I don’t even know—“ Before he could take even two steps, Tony reached up and grabbed a tight hold on the back of Steve’s neck. Steve flinched in surprise                “Tony, what—?”

Tony rushed forward so that he was pressed up against Steve’s back and could hiss into his ear. “You didn’t think you were going to get off that easy, did you?”

“I, I don’t—“

Tightening his grip on Steve’s neck, Tony cut off his stuttering and redirected him towards the stairs. “Let’s go, upstairs, come on.” 

Steve glanced back at him and understanding slowly lit his eyes. “Can I get some food first?”

“Nope. March.”

And he made Steve march, all the way up the stairs and into their bedroom. He had been thinking about this during the whole drive and he wasn’t going to wait another minute. All of that tea Steve drank would just have to keep him sustained until after Tony was done with him.

Within a minute of closing and locking the door behind them, Tony had them both stripped and he pushed Steve down onto his stomach on the mattress. Steve growled and frowned back over his shoulder as Tony crawled up behind him. Tony sucked in a breath then slowly smiled as he nuzzled the curve of Steve’s shoulder and nosed the line of his back to the base of his spine. He saw the muscles on Steve’s back tense then relax and knew despite Steve’s frown that he was okay with this. That, and if Steve really wanted to fight it he was strong enough to flip them over and have Tony pinned instead.

A pleased hum rumbled in Tony’s chest and bit lightly at Steve’s hips and after a moment of hesitation Steve lifted them up into the air.

Tony’s prep job was sloppy but effective and by the end of it Steve was panting, his cheeks flushed red. Reaching up, Tony cupped the back of Steve’s neck and pressed his head down into the bed, though making sure that his face was turned to the side so that his mate could breathe. Steve growled again but didn’t move to shake Tony off, just dug his fingers into the sheets as Tony moved in and entered him in one swift surge forward.

Tony growled and bit his lip so hard he thought it would bleed to try and keep in his moans as he paused to let Steve adjust just a bit before slowly increasing his pace. Sweat dripped off of his forehead and chest, rolling down his chin and arms and getting all over Steve beneath him. Then a long, drawn-out whimper escaped from Steve’s throat and Tony gasped. He leaned down and licked Steve’s shoulder blade and _tasted_ the pheromones, his sweat mixed thick with Tony’s scenting oil. Steve grunted then whimpered again as the air around them grew thick with the odor.

After that Tony sort of just lost it. He blamed it entirely on Steve though because, really, who could blame him? He came with a strangled growl and collapsed on top of Steve, watching as his mate bit down on his arm to keep in a howl as he reached his own climax. Steve’s arms gave out and they collapsed in a heap onto the mattress. Steve grunted then rolled over and wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist and buried his face against Tony’s neck to bite lightly at his throat. Tony growled and wiggled in Steve’s grasp, feeling entirely too oversensitive  and Steve chuckled hoarsely and nuzzled behind Tony’s ear. “I need to make you jealous more often.”

“You’re hilarious…”

“Who said I was joking?”

Tony snarled and dug his fingers into Steve’s arms. “You try a stunt like that on purpose and I’m stripping you down and fucking you right in front of them. Is that what you want? You want me to fuck you with those dick Wolves watching?”

“Tony! No!” Steve squirmed against his hold but not enough to actually dislodge him. “Knock it off.”

“You sure? The idea’s growing on me.” Tony purred and pulled Steve back in close. “It would show them who you belong to.” That it was Tony who reduced Agent Steve Rogers into a sweaty mess, who was able to claim the alpha Wolf in the most intimate way possible. Nobody else would ever be able to get that close. Nobody.

Steve swallowed before a small, teasing smile slipped onto his lips. “Watch what you say, Tony. You’re starting to sound a little Wolf-ish.”

“Blasphemy.”

Steve laughed and Tony scowled and pinched him. “You think it’s funny? Just wait until we run into some gorgeous, young, omega Cat and I make eyes at them all night.”

Steve stopped laughing but there was still a teasing glint in his eye. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because you’re harder to impress than that.”

Tony hummed to try and dislodge a lump that had settled in his throat. It turned out Steve knew him better than he thought. Sometimes that still freaked him out a bit. “You don’t know what catches my eye.”

Steve leaned in to nuzzle Tony’s neck again. “I think I do. Plus, Wolves make sure to mark what’s theirs. There’s no omega in the world stupid enough to let you come onto them with this on your neck.” An embarrassing thrill ran through Tony’s veins as Steve bit down on the mark he had left on Tony’s shoulder the night they mated.

Bringing himself back down from the small high he had just been sent on, Tony let out a long breath then grinned. “But you really got off on that omega?”

It took a moment for Steve to realize Tony had just bounced the topic back to Xavier but when he did he sighed and pushed himself up so that he could look Tony in the eye. “It was just a biological reaction. Drop it.”

“I’m not going to drop it.”

“Shh.” Rolling over, Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and pressed a hand over his mouth.

Tony licked his palm then pried his fingers away in over-dramatized rebellion. “You can’t shut me up that easy. I’m not some _omega_ you can push around.”

Steve couldn’t stop the laugh that burst out of him and he pulled his mate closer to him. “Jeez, Tony. Enough!”

Tony growled playfully and rolled on top of Steve, pinning him to the mattress by the shoulders even as Steve kept his arms wrapped tight around Tony’s waist. “But an _omega_ wouldn’t be able to wrestle you down like this.”

Steve’s grin softened. “No they wouldn’t.”

Tony huffed as he met Steve’s eyes, swallowed, then leaned down and pressed their lips together in an unusually gentle kiss. Steve had let his eyes close as he saw Tony beginning to bend his head down and only opened them again when Tony pulled away after a long moment. Their gazes met again and looking into Tony’s eyes Steve finally felt like Tony had forgiven him for any misdeeds. “…Can we go to bed now?”

“Yeah. Do I have to move?”

“…No.”

Tony was all compact muscle but Steve would be able to support him all the same. “Good.”

Letting the rest of his weight fall onto Steve, Tony buried his nose into the crook of Steve’s neck to breathe in deep. Swallowing, Steve closed his eyes again and gently bumped his chin against Tony’s forehead, at the same time bringing one hand up from Tony’s waist to run his fingers through his mate’s dark hair. It was a small moment of peace that they both knew they had earned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for everyone who commented on the last chapter! I really appreciate getting all of your feedback. ^_^ I’ve been a bit busy but I tried to get this chapter out as quickly as I could. As a reminder, I often will post sneak-peeks of chapters on my Tumblr page (http://loquitorlatinae.tumblr.com) and am still doing the “Ask Me” page for the “Chasing the Moon” universe also on Tumblr (http://askavengersshifters.tumblr.com). But for now, onward to the chapter! I hope you enjoy!

“Brethren! It brings me great joy to see you once more!”

Thor beamed at him as Steve moved in to give him a quick hug. Steve was smiling almost as broadly and stifled a grunt as Thor gave him a very enthusiastic pat on the back. Two days had passed since he and Tony had visited with Charles and Erik and their quiet day had exploded with activity when they had gotten a call from the airport from the Lion saying he and Loki were back in the States.

Pulling away from Steve, Thor craned his neck to peer around Steve’s shoulder, a smile still on his face. “Where is the little one?”

 As soon as he asked Steve heard tiny feet racing up from behind him and a second later Peter pushed his way past Steve’s legs and leapt at Thor. And Peter could jump. Thor laughed as the small boy launched himself so he was about eyelevel and snagged him right out of the air.

“Oh look, you brought the killer with you.”

Steve sighed and glanced over his shoulder as Tony walked up to the door, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Loki emerged from behind Thor’s bulk. He had been completely hidden behind his mate’s shoulders and frowned at the Panther, looking too aloof to be insulted. “It is good to see you as well, Stark.”

When Loki had first begun to stay over, the Raven had been cautious, skirting around the rest of them as he got a lay of the land and figured out the chain of command. Over the last few months though he had begun to grow bolder and more comfortable in his own skin when he had the opportunity to be around them, probably knowing that Thor would be able and willing to defend him if he were ever truly threatened. Tony didn’t care much for the Raven’s change of heart and wasn’t afraid to show it. “Just stay out of my way.”

“Ah, I feel as welcome as ever.”

Thor wasn’t paying attention to either of them. He never really intervened unless things began to get heated. Instead the Lion was entirely focused on Peter, both of them laughing as Thor spun him around. “Look how much you have grown! You will be a strapping young lad before I know it.”

Thor adored Peter and spoiled him more than Tony even did. Steve had often wondered to himself if Thor and Loki would ever try to have children of their own but had never asked the Lion about it. Either they were waiting, uninterested, or it was impossible for whatever reason. Loki was neither an alpha, a beta, nor an omega and while male Wolf omegas were able to get pregnant from their male alpha mates, Steve wasn’t sure how that translated into Ravens’ abilities. Steve had to admit, he was a little glad about it. As good as Thor could be, he wasn’t sure how Loki would act as a father, or technically as a mother.

Once Thor stopping spinning, Steve moved to the side so that he could make his way into the house. “How long are you here for?”

Thor sighed, still holding Peter in his arms as the boy tried to crawl up and around his shoulders. “For a month at least. I have for the moment settled my affairs with my father’s clan so I need not hurry back.”

 “Good to hear.” It would be nice to have everyone under the same roof again.

Natasha, Bruce, and Clint all appeared from their respective hideaways at the sound of Thor’s booming voice and they spent the afternoon catching up. After dinner they had all retired back into the media room, an unspoken agreement amongst all of them that now that the pack was all together again they should at least spend the night in each other’s company before going to bed. Even Tony stayed and fiddled on his tablet while the rest of them talked and joked their way through a football game and then a movie. Only Loki was absent. Steve didn’t know where the Raven was but he wasn’t too worried about it. Since Thor was so relaxed he had a suspicion that Loki was waiting up in the Lion’s room.

Peter had been running in circles all day after Thor had gifted him with a bag full of Swedish candy and he had finally crashed. He was out like a light. The boy was draped across Steve and Tony’s laps, his knees resting on the top of Steve’s thighs and his face buried against the fabric of the shirt covering Tony’s stomach. He was snoring a bit which seemed to amuse Clint—who was sitting on the floor in front of the couch they were on—to no end.

Steve was distracted from a ridiculous story Thor was telling them about trying to get his luggage through airport security when he felt an elbow nudge his side. He looked over and Tony motioned towards his tablet screen, taking care not to jostle Peter around too much as he tilted it towards Steve. “We got another email from Coulson. It looks another job came in.”

Steve frowned down at the bright white tablet screen and saw that Tony had the email opened. But the movie was playing and the mood was light and playful...He sighed. “Is it urgent?”

Lifting his brows, Tony flipped the tablet back around so that he was looking at it and closed the email. “No more than the rest of them. But I only looked at the subject line so who knows?”

Phil was pretty good about marking things that were truly time sensitive so a few more hours of this shouldn’t hurt. “I’ll look at it later tonight then.”

The thought of another mission coming up settled into the back of his mind and Steve turned his attention back towards the movie and the conclusion of Thor’s harrowing adventure with his luggage.

But eventually the movie ended and the stories winded down. Bruce was dozing off in his chair, his glasses sitting askew on his nose as he slumped over to the side. Tony was starting to fidget beside Steve and a bored expression was slowly washing over Natasha’s face. Clint and Thor were still laughing about a joke Thor had told about five minutes ago and Steve figured that it was about time to start wrapping the night up.

The plan was going great until Steve tried to move. The second he did he woke Peter up. And he was _not_ happy. And then Tony wasn’t happy because Peter rolled onto _him_ and started bawling as soon as Steve breathed the word “bed”.

“Nooo, Dad, I wanna stay up!”

Tony hissed and tried to grab Peter’s tiny hands as they battered his chest and he glared at Steve for waking Peter up. The rest of the pack save for Thor had conspicuously slipped out of the room at the first hint of a tantrum which left Tony and Steve to deal with it. Luckily Peter was still too small to do any real harm, though even when he was fully grown he’d probably never be as strong as either of them. Sighing as Peter kicked a small socked foot out at his shoulder, Tony slowly rose to his feet with Peter in his arms. “No can do, champ. Come on, let’s go.”

“Noooo! I don’t wanna!” Large tears welled up in Peter’s eyes and rolled down his cheeks as snot dripped down from his nose. It would have broken Steve’s heart if he didn’t know that Peter wasn’t really upset or hurt. And this wasn’t the first tantrum they’d encountered. “I don’t wanna go to bed! I’m not tired.”

Tony grimaced. “Trust me, you’re exhausted. Otherwise you wouldn’t be fighting this hard. Steve!” He swung around, Peter held outstretched in his hands like a tear-filled, snotty offering. “Help me out here, you know I’ll just give up soon. Look at him. Oh, fu—“ Tony sputtered as Peter squirmed around just enough to shoot a web right into Tony's chest, getting the sticky fibers all over the front of his shirt.

Steve jumped forward and grabbed Peter from Tony only have him spin around and shoot another glob of webbing at Steve's pants, sticking one of his shoes to the floor.

“No! I don’t wanna…!”

He didn’t really care about his shoes but Steve was going to put a stop to this before this got out of hand. He really shouldn’t have let him have all that sugar today. “Peter, _enough_!”

The boy instantly cowed at the command—Steve had used his “alpha” voice—but he was still wiggling and sniffing. The webs had stopped flying but Steve was afraid that the crying was about to start back up when Thor rose from his chair and strolled across the room with a small, knowing smile on his face.

“Please, allow me to assist you.” Steve nodded and Thor stepped closer so that he could rest his hand on Peter’s back as he addressed the boy directly. “Peter, the time has come for all to retire to their beds. If you agree to without complaint I shall tell you a story.”

Steve felt Peter’s chest heave before he leaned his head back to meet Steve’s eyes. There were tears still welling up in his eyes but it seemed like Thor’s offer had momentarily capped his tantrum. “C-can I, Pop?”

Usually Steve might not have been alright with someone other than him or Tony, especially another alpha, tucking in his son. But Thor was pack so if he thought he could get Peter to bed than Steve didn’t have a problem with that. Once Peter got to this stage Steve was willing to take all the help they could get. “Of course. Make sure you’re all cleaned up first.”

Peter nodded sullenly and gripped onto Thor’s shoulder as Steve transferred him into the Lion’s arms. In turn, Thor smiled widely and he gently bounced Peter up and down until he drew a small giggle from the boy. “Come, dry your tears, young prince.” Peter giggled again and wiped his hands over his face. Steve winced as all he did was smear snot around and snuck in to use his sleeve to clean his son’s face off. “There! Now we shall get you ready for your rest. Would you like to ride atop my shoulders?”

Before Thor finished his question Peter had already crawled half-way up his head. “Yeah!”

Thor grinned and waited for him to settle, showing an amazing amount of patience as Peter gripped and pulled at his long hair to keep his balance. Then, after reaching one hand up to make sure that Peter would not fall off, he strolled out of the room looking entirely too regal for someone with a four-year-old wrapped around their head. Steve shook his head as he wondered at it. It must be a Cat ability because somehow Tony always managed the same thing.

Speaking of Tony…Steve turned back to look at his mate to see Tony tugging at the web still stuck to his chest, the corners of his mouth turned down in a concentrated frown as he struggled with the sticky strands. Then Steve remembered he had his own glob of webbing to deal with and looked down at his legs and his foot that was still stuck to the floor. Steve’s jaw tightened and he tried jerking his foot back and up. The webbing stretched a few inches then snapped back tight, bringing his foot right back to the floor with it. He knew from experience that this was going to take a second person.

“Tony? Could you lend me a hand?”

Tony’s chin bounced up before his frown morphed into a small, teasing smile. “Having a little trouble?”

That was pretty obvious. “Yeah. Stand next to me so I can get some leverage.”

“Aww, the big bad alpha Wolf is stuck.” Steve huffed out a growl at the remark but couldn’t find it in himself to be mad as Tony walked over to him at the same time. Between the two of them they were able to wrench Steve’s shoe free and afterwards Steve was more than ready to retire up to their room.  

They stopped by Peter’s first though to make sure that he was actually in bed. He was, and Thor was there next to him, waving his hands around as he reached an exciting moment in the story he was telling about an adventure he and Loki had when they were children. Peter was absolutely enthralled, staring up at the Lion with wide eyes with his arms gripping tight around his stuffed animal.

So Tony grabbed Steve’s elbow and tugged him out and down the hall to their own bedroom. When they got inside and closed the door the first thing Tony did was tug his shirt off. Steve’s gaze caught on the sight of his mate’s exposed skin, the lightened scar tissue centered in his chest catching the dim light as Tony grimaced and shook out his shirt. Shaking it out had only made it bunch up more on itself.  “This shit’s never coming out. There’s another shirt ruined.”

Steve blinked a few times then realized that Tony had been speaking to him. You would think he would have been more accustomed to the sight of the Cat’s naked torso but Tony was so self-conscious about his scar that even Steve rarely got to see it outside of the bed. Which was probably safest because now all he wanted to do was lick it. Then he would run his tongue down Tony’s stomach and push down his pants—Catching himself, Steve cleared his throat and hoped that the low lighting hid his blush. “Just use it as one of your work shirts.”

Tony scowled. “It’s a button-down. Only you would think that’s a shirt someone would want to weld in.”

“Here, let me see it.” Tony threw it at him and Steve almost missed catching it as his mate began to strip the rest of his clothing off. “We can send them to the dry cleaners.” That’s where Steve’s pants were going. The shoes could be salvaged if he used enough elbow grease and shoe polish. This wasn’t the first time Peter had gotten a bit wild with his aim.

Jumping onto his bed in nothing but his underwear, Tony scoffed. “And say that the stain is what exactly? ‘Hello, I’d like to have this web-like material my son excreted onto my clothing removed from my Armani dress shirt please’.”

Steve shrugged helplessly then put Tony’s shirt down next to the hamper. His pants joined the pile a minute later. He was still going to take them to the folks at the cleaners. They were perfectly good pieces of clothing, it would be a shame not to at least try and salvage them. The rest of his clothes went in the hamper and then he climbed into bed beside Tony, the lights automatically darkening as he slipped under the covers. “Why were you wearing such a nice shirt anyway?” Steve doubted his mate had dressed up for Thor’s arrival.

Tony seemed to sense what he was thinking and answered back with a defensive twinge to his voice. “I had a video conference this morning and Pepper threatened to hide my coffee at the office if I wore a graphics tee.”

“Wow, she was really playing hardball.”

“She knows my weaknesses.”

An amused hum escaped Steve and he settled back against the pillows. He let his hand drift over to run across Tony’s arm, stroking up and down his mate’s muscled skin in a way he knew Tony found soothing even if he never admitted it. This was nice. Just laying here in the quiet with Tony’s heat radiating out next to him. This is what he worked so hard to be able to protect and enjoy. This was what made everything worth it. Everything…Oh shoot. He had forgotten Coulson’s email. Sighing, Steve pushed himself up to sit back against the headboard. “Can you pass me the tablet?”

Tony grunted and rolled over to blindly grab his tablet off of his bedside table then tossed it towards Steve’s side of the bed. “Here…”

“Thanks.”

Steve carefully unlocked Tony’s tablet, wincing as his eyes flooded with the harsh blue-white light from the screen,  and flipped through the applications until he found the one that accessed the email account that Tony had set up for him. With Tony’s help he was getting more accustomed to using computers and Stark Tech. He still didn’t prefer to do it but he could get by now which was a small blessing. Steve knew he wasn’t dumb, he was just confused and Tony was a surprisingly good teacher when he actually got it in his mind to try. It probably helped that he was Steve’s mate though; Steve wasn’t sure if the Panther would have shown the same levels of tolerance for anyone else. Well, except for Peter but Peter was quickly taking after Tony as far as technological prowess went and didn’t need any tutoring.

Steve frowned as he read through the email, his frown only deepening as he opened the mission file Coulson had attached to the message. It wasn’t too bad, but it was involved, probably the most complex mission they had been given since Hydra.  

“Tony.”

Tony pulled the blankets tighter around his body and nestled his face up against Steve’s neck as he gave a tired grunt of acknowledgment. “Hmm?”

When he spoke, his short beard tickled Steve’s shoulder. It made him wish he didn’t have to talk about work. “Tony, take a look at this.”

“That’s what mornings are for.”

“Just a quick look.”

Tony groaned against his skin. “Steve…”

He had to suck in a breath and let it out slowly. Tony had to know what affect he would have on Steve by doing that. But he wasn’t going to let it distract him. “I want to talk it over with you.”

“Now?”

“Why not? You’re never actually that tired this early.” That was true. Tony was almost nocturnal when he was allowed to run on his own schedule and usually the only way to get him to sleep was sex. Which Steve was not complaining about. Otherwise he just tended to lay in bed until Steve fell asleep then popped back up and went down to his workshop until about three or four in the morning when he would fall back into bed.

Tony turned his head so that he could talk easier. “I don’t have to deal with Thor coming back and giving my kid a sugar-high everyday either.” Steve nudged him with the tablet and finally Tony gave in. “Let me see it.”

Obstinately staying pressed as tightly as possible against Steve’s chest, Tony grudgingly accepted his tablet back. Steve watched him scroll through the email and distractedly ran his fingers through Tony’s mussed dark hair. It didn’t take long him long to finish and when he did he switched the tablet off and shoved it back onto his nightstand.

“Alright, I read it. What do you want to talk about?”

“We need the whole team out for this one.” If Steve had read it right they were going to have to bring Bruce _and_ Tony for this one. There were advanced technologies that would need to be dealt with and he would have to have everyone else with him. 

 “What are we going to do about Peter?” Tony frowned and nestled back under the blankets. “Pepper is out in California for a factory tour. That’s why we did the video conference.”

Right. Peter. Steve blinked up at the ceiling in surprise. This was the first time that they were ever faced with this problem. There were a few times where they had all had business to attend to but Pepper had always been their default.

Steve’s silence must have been enough of an answer for Tony because he scowled and tried again. “What about Coulson?”

Steve knew that Tony was grasping at straws to even bring Coulson up as an option. “No, Phil told me he was going to a conference about Shifters in Vancouver. I think Peggy was attending as well.” 

“That’s probably why he mentioned Canada in the email then. I thought he was just wishing for a lame vacation….” They both sighed and fell silent for a few moments. Steve felt Tony’s hand brush accidently against his beneath the sheets and caught his mate’s fingers in his own as he thought.  But Tony found an answer before Steve did, but it was one that Steve didn’t care much for. “We can take Peter with us and leave him in the hotel room.”

“By himself?”

“I know it’s not ideal, but he’s almost five years old now. And he’s smart.”

“Tony…“ Steve didn’t know what to say. He didn’t like it but he couldn’t think up a better reason why than Peter was too young. Which he was. But Tony already knew that. And Steve still hadn’t thought of a better idea. The thought that they could take Peter out to stay with Charles and Erik flickered through his mind but he quickly dismissed it. There was no way Tony would agree to it and Steve himself didn’t even know if he’d trust their son with people they had only just met, even if he liked them.

Tony shook his head. “I’m not staying behind on this one. I need to help with the security systems. So unless _you_ want to sit it out, we didn’t leave ourselves with a lot of choices.”

There was no way Steve could sit this one out either. “Fine. But we make it a quick one.”

O~O~O~O

Steve rose with the sun the next morning and was changing back to his clothes before Tony so much as twitched. “JARVIS?” He had gotten better at addressing the AI over the years. “Another mission came up. Have everyone meet down in the living room in twenty minutes.”

Behind him Tony let out a long moan into his pillow. “Twenty minutes, are you serious…? Start without me…”

“I’ll start when you show up downstairs in twenty minutes.” He looked back up towards the ceiling and pretended like he didn’t see Tony flipping him off.  “Did you get that, JARVIS?”

“ _Yes, Sir.”_ He almost sounded amused. At times Steve thought that JARVIS _enjoyed_ it when Steve talked back to Tony which was something only an AI that Tony created could emote. “ _Shall I also wake Master Peter?_ ”

“No, let him sleep.” It would be easier to have a proper meeting if Peter slept through it.

“ _Yes, Sir_.”

Steve pushed open the door to their room and smiled a bit to himself as he heard JARVIS’s voice seep out through the doors of the other rooms along the hallway. “ _Good morning. It is currently seven twenty one a.m. Your presence is required downstairs in the living room in twenty minutes for a mission briefing._ ”

The announcement was met with a series of groans and grumbles. He wasn’t surprised though when the door to Natasha’s room swung open as he walked by and the redhead stuck her head out.  There were a few strands of hair out of place but otherwise there was no sign that she hadn’t been awake for hours. Which she very well might have been. Even after a few years of living in close quarters with her, Steve still didn’t know how often the Spider slept or how long she slept for. “I suppose the wake-up call was your doing?”

“That’s right.” There was no reason to deny the charge.

“Do you want casual clothes or mission gear on for the briefing?”

“Casual is fine. We’ll have time to prep and pack afterwards.”

She disappeared back into her room with a nod and Steve continued on his way. He took his time downstairs making up a large pot of coffee then went into the living room and had JARVIS project the details of the mission as holograms on the wall. Bruce was the first to shuffle into the room. The beta was looking more asleep than awake but he made a good attempt to appear alert as he poured himself an extra large cup of coffee. Natasha came in next, followed by Thor, then Clint. The last to show up was Tony and he arrived in his boxers and an old t-shirt. Steve reminded himself that he was lucky that his mate had showed up with anything on at all considering he had left him mostly naked in their bed and dutifully ignored the juvenile behavior. He was only three minutes late after all. That wasn’t too bad.

Clearing his throat, Steve motioned up towards the projection of the mission file and enlarged the map Coulson had attached to it with a quick swipe of his hands. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started. According to SHIELD’s database, the situation is that a militant Wolf pack has set up a small operation near the industrial area near Norfolk, Virginia. Similar to the pack we encountered in Cincinnati, this one has been trying to claim territory in the city and has roughed up some local humans to show they mean business. Unlike the pack in Cincinnati these Wolves have increased the effectiveness of their efforts by creating an organized network more like the mafia than a street gang. Their den is also much better equipped. It’s centered around a large house closer to downtown but SHIELD intelligence has shown that the alpha is supposed to be holding a meeting with his pack here, at a separate location that they appear to use to store and fence stolen goods.” It took Steve a minute to figure out how to shrink the image of the map and then enlarge a satellite image of the new location. “They apparently have a complex security system even at the storehouse which is why we’ll definitely need Tony and Bruce to be coming with us. And given the number of Wolves who are supposed to be on the premise we’ll need everyone else in order to control the entrances and exits and manage the pack once we gain access.”

Bruce tilted his head to the side, looking much more conscious now that he had a little caffeine in his system. “Why did SHIELD let them build up so much infrastructure before sending us out?”

It was a good question. Steve had wondered the same thing himself at first. “Apparently the pack was pretty good about keeping their work underground. They were being more cautious than other packs have been in the past because of the raised awareness among humans of Shifter activity. They only started making their bigger plays once they thought they were strong enough to manage any government response.”

They spent a few minutes going through a series of questions and answers and starting to sketch out a strategy about how to approach the mission. As Steve expected, he, Thor, and Tony each had very different opinions on the matter and they expressed those opinions loudly. Bruce, Natasha, and Clint actually kept them on track so Steve was very glad that they were there. Eventually the question arose about what their lodging situation would be and Steve felt it was time to break the news. Usually they would be able to bunk in the local SHIELD office but given the circumstances… “We’ll be staying in a hotel this time.”

Natasha and Clint both looked up sharply and Steve met their eyes. “Peter will be coming with us.”

“Do you think it wise?” Thor furrowed his brow and Natasha and Clint shared a look as Steve turn to answer the Lion.

“No, but given the state of things and the short notice we don’t really have another choice.”

Bruce gazed at them for a long moment then gave a slow nod. He knew they wouldn’t have done it if they had been able to come up with a better option. “If it has to happen then we’ll make it work.”

 Steve nodded in thanks. “Alright. Then let’s keep planning. We’re leaving early this afternoon so we can arrive in Norfolk tonight. We’ll have a day to observe and set everything up and then we’re making our move tomorrow night.” They had a lot to go over and not much time to do it in.

O~O~O~O

Tony was ecstatic. He had missed this.

Well, not _this_. This whole prepping for a road trip thing he could do without. “Alright, everyone in the van.”

By “van” he meant the tactical SHIELD vehicle they had been loaned for the mission that had two seats up from and then two rows of bench seats that could be dropped down into the floor of the van to allow access to the banks of screens and technical equipment that lined the walls of the van. It was actually a bit surreal to be installing a toddler’s car seat in the center of the middle bench with all the weapons and tactical gear he knew they had stored in the back.

Peter pouted a bit as Steve carefully buckled him in, giving each strap a gentle tug to make sure it was secure. “I wanna sit with you!” He had been on edge all day. Peter knew something was going on but all Steve and Tony wanted to tell him was that they were going “to work”. They tried not to lie to him but neither of them wanted Peter to get scared about what was happening while they were away from home.

“Sorry, Pete. The front seats are for big people only.”

Steve sighed then caved like the big softie he was. “What if I come sit back there with you?”

Peter instantly cheered up but Tony jerked back to stare at Steve. “Wait, who’s sitting shotgun then?” He had been planning on doing to driving and if Steve wasn’t sitting up front with him that left—

Clint grinned and his hand shot up in the air as Thor and Natasha clamored into the back of the van, apparently neither of them wanting to deal with Tony for over six hours any more than he wanted to deal with them. “Oh, I call it!”

Yeah, there was no way. “Like hell you do. Bruce, get up here.”

Bruce shrugged apologetically and moved to sit in the front passenger seat as Clint’s mouth fell open, a protest falling off of his lips. “But—“

“No. Clint, I’m not sitting with you up here for that long. End of argument.”

Clint balked but let Natasha tug him back into the middle bench so that he was sitting in front of her and beside Peter’s car seat. “Why do we always get the cheap seats?”

Tony smirked back at them in the rearview mirror as he started the vehicle up. The thing had a lot of power under the hood. The SHIELD agent who had dropped it off said that it could ram its way through chain link fences and the sides of wood-framed buildings and Tony believed him. “Because you’re not alphas?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“If you guys were Wolves or Cats you’d be betas at best.”

Natasha raised a brow as Clint’s lips twisted down into a confused frown. “I thought Bruce was the beta?”

Steve corrected him as he buckled himself in beside Peter. “Bruce is my Beta. It’s more of a title to denote him and gives him a certain amount of authority in the pack. But there can be more than one beta—not to say that you’d be one. Most Wolf packs are made predominately from betas. It’s the most common hierarchical orientation to have.”

Thor shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Wolves are far too complicated. Cats are much simpler, the great majority are either alpha or omega. We have very few betas to muddy the waters.”

Perking up in his seat, Peter twisted around as far as he could to try and look at Thor as the Lion spoke, then swung back around to peer at Steve. “What am I?”

Steve smiled. “You’re a beta, Pete, just like Uncle Bruce.”

“Is that good?”

Bruce glanced back over his shoulder with a soft smile. “I don’t mind it.”

O~O~O~O

By the time they reached Norfolk all of them were more than ready to get out of the car. Tony was no exception and put the van in park as quick as he could manage before practically throwing himself out of the driver’s seat and into the parking lot of the hotel they would be staying at. It was dark, it was cold, it had just started to rain, and his eyes were tired from staring at the road all afternoon. But he had volunteered for a reason. Well, multiple reasons. The first was that he liked their new loaner van and he wanted to be the first one to drive the thing. The second was that tonight Steve, Thor, Natasha, and Clint would be staking out their targets while he and Bruce got all the tech set up at the hotel and Tony had driven so that the four of them could be in peak condition to last throughout the night.

So after he made sure that the rooms were available and ready, Steve immediately ran off with the rest of the pack, leaving Tony and Bruce behind to unpack what they had left inside the van and to get everything ready for the main operation tomorrow night.

Tony sighed as he pulled another heavy briefcase out of the back and lugged it to one of their two rooms. Tony had booked them two, one where Tony, Steve, Peter, and Bruce would be sleeping in and the other where Natasha, Clint, and Thor would be sleeping. If they ever got the chance to sleep. “Hey Bruce, I bet you can get all of this in one load if you shifted.”

The beta grimaced as he shouldered open the door to the room they would be sharing. “Yeah, I probably could. But it would probably be torn to shreds before I could get it in the room.”

“Details.”

Despite Tony’s grumbling between the two of them they managed to get all the gear safely inside the room in about ten minutes. The hotel was higher end—Tony wasn’t about to stay in anything else by choice—but was the sort where each room had a door that opened up to the parking lot. He had made sure to book specifically in that style of hotel to avoid the awkward event of dragging boxes of equipment through interior hallways. Or from attracting attention by having a pack’s worth of special ops agents tromping through the lobby. Then Tony got to spend the next five hours trying to keep Peter entertained while trying to set up all of their electronics at the same time. Peter was a ball of energy, all excited over getting to stay in the hotel, and turned both queen beds into two trampolines. He tried turning on the TV but in the end he sent Bruce to try to calm Peter back down. Bruce succeeded but he also succeeded in falling asleep next to small boy, both Wolves sprawled out next to each other on top of one of the beds. Tony thought of waking Bruce up but after a minute just snapped a quick picture for blackmail purposes with his phone and got back to work. If he woke Bruce up, Peter might wake back up too and he would be able to get more work done alone than he would with Bruce if Peter started bouncing off the walls again.

Steve and the others came back around four in the morning. Tony was still up, sort of. He might have been resting his eyes but jolted up in his seat as he heard someone approaching their door. Steve didn’t seem surprised to see that he was still up but barely managed to mutter something about getting the information they needed before stripping down to his underwear and rolling onto the unoccupied bed. Then he stared over at Tony until Tony rolled his eyes, walked the few steps across the room, and crawled under the covers next to his mate.

Humming happily, Steve nosed at Tony’s jaw as his arm wrapped around to pull him closer. He smelled tired and like grease and low tide. He must have been down near the waterfront. “Mm, Tony…you get any sleep yet?”

“Just waiting on you.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He had mostly been focused on putting the finishing touches on his hacking systems but he hadn’t wanted to turn in until he knew that Steve had gotten back safely.

Steve smiled exhaustedly and pressed his lips against Tony’s forehead. Tony closed his eyes and tried to resist the little rush of warmth that pulsed through his body. There was a part of him that still resented how far Steve had worked his way into his heart. Even though they had been a mated pair for more than three years Tony still wasn’t used to it. He didn’t know if he ever would be. But Steve was worth it.

Somehow he was always worth it.

O~O~O~O

“No, Dad. It’s rainy outside!”

It was the day of the mission. After everyone had woken back up they had gone through the mission strategy over and over until they had the plan memorized. Tony and Bruce had demonstrated he system hacker they had developed and had accidentally shut down the hotel’s wifi for half an hour. Okay, it was entirely intentional but Tony had needed to prove a point to Clint. Speaking of Clint, he and Natasha had spent the later part of the afternoon checking, cleaning, and re-checking the small arsenal of weapons they had brought along but Steve had insisted that they keep all of them in the room they were sharing with Thor. He hadn’t wanted Peter to see any of them. But even though they had kept their son shielded from what was happening, he still knew something was wrong now that they were getting ready to go.

 “Hey, it’s fine, little dog. You’ll be okay. Look,” Tony lay across the bed so that he could pass his son his stuffed toy, “here’s Snow.” Peter had given it that name after its white fur. Tony still didn’t understand why anyone with half a brain would make a kid’s toy out of white material because it was a bitch to try to keep the thing clean. But Peter loved it. “And I brought nearly our entire movie collection and got you a pizza. Can you be a big boy for us and stay here until we get back?”

Peter hugged the stuffed wolf tight against his chest. “When’re you coming back?”

“In a few hours.” Hopefully. “That’s not too long.”

“Yes it is!”

“We’ll be back before you know it. Here.” Tony took off his watch and wrapped it around Peter’s wrist. It was adjustable but even at its smallest setting it still hung loose on the boy’s wrist. But it wasn’t going to fall off and that’s all that mattered. Leaning in, Tony reached around Peter and pointed at the watch. “If there is any trouble while we’re gone, or if you just want someone to talk to, press this button on the side of the watch. You see it?”

Peter rested his weight back against Tony and nodded silently.

“Let’s try it. Go ahead and press the button.”

Peter frowned but reached out with his small hands and carefully pressed down on the largest button on the right side of the watch face. There was a second of silence before the line connected. “ _How may I be of service?”_

The frown on Peter’s face lifted just a bit at the sound of the AI’s familiar voice and Tony smiled.  “See?” Resting his chin on Peter’s shoulder, Tony leaned over him to speak into the watch. “JARVIS, Peter’s going to be wearing the watch until future notice so you’re on call for the next few hours.”

“ _Yes, Sir. Is there anything I can do for you, Master Peter?”_

Peter shook his head but then realized that he was going to have to speak. “N-no.”

“ _Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need anything_.”

 “Okay.”

“Thanks, J.”

Steve chose that moment to emerge from the bathroom. He had been doing an obsessively thorough survey of the room. Even as he walked back into the main room he was still distracted, his nose twitching as if he would be able to smell the invisible dangers still threatening their son. “I checked all the windows and the front door. Everything will be locked and secure once we lock the door on our way out.” Sighing, Steve gave the room one more look before walking reluctantly over to the bed Tony and Peter were on.  “Will you be okay?”

Peter gave a hesitant nod and Steve bent down to kiss the top of Peter’s hair then bumped their foreheads together. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Be good, Peter. Stay in the room and don’t open the door for anyone.”

The boy pouted as Steve pulled away but nodded. “Okay, Pop…”

All three of them looked over as the door to the room opened and Bruce peered inside. He had been over in the other room helping Thor, Natasha, and Clint finish getting prepped. “Alright. Steve, Tony, the others are ready to go. Are we all settled in here?”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. I think so.” As he started to get up from the bed, Peter grabbed onto his sleeve. Tony faltered then reached down at gently pried his tiny fingers off of his arm. He would be fine.

Steve swallowed down a sigh and managed to offer his son a confident smile instead. Thank god Steve could because Tony definitely didn’t feel up to it. “We love you, Peter. We’ll be back soon.”

They both hesitated as they heard Peter let out a small whimper as they closed the door. He would be fine. Peter would be fine. They’d be back before he knew it. Tony set his jaw then resolutely pulled the door all the way shut and gave it a couple extra tugs to make sure that it was locked and was going to stay that way.

Peter would be fine.

His Dad left him alone all the time, when he was even younger than Peter. Why was it so hard for Tony to do it?

“Come on, Steve, let’s get to the car. The others are waiting.”

Steve nodded but it took him an extra second to actually step away from the door.

He seemed only half there as he climbed into the passenger’s seat and as much as Tony could sympathize he knew that Steve was going to get his head back into the game pretty quickly. They all needed to be on the ball tonight. His mate’s hands tightened from where he had them resting in his lap and Tony heard him bite back a snarl. “This doesn’t feel right.”

Tony shook his head as he turned the ignition on. “Preaching to the choir…”

He caught Thor frowning behind them in the rearview mirror. “Then we shall simply finish this mission before we are missed.”

“Thor’s right. Besides,” Clint grinned from here he was perched in the back. “I want some of that pizza you got for Peter. It made me hungry.” The Hawk’s blatant attempt to lighten the mood was overdone but still appreciated.

Their stake-out the night before paid off and Steve directed Tony to a spot they could keep the van hidden but still maintain a line of sight with the storehouse. Tony had been right the night before; they were down by the waterfront in a sketchy part of town, the perfect place for a rogue Wolf pack to be fencing illegal goods. From the outside the building almost looked abandoned but Tony knew better. He had read SHEILD’s file on this place. It was wired top to bottom with security and surveillance systems. One of the pack members was apparently well versed in technology which was rare in a Wolf and these guys clearly made the most of it.

Once Tony parked the van everyone silently began to move. The seats in the back folded down making room for Clint, Natasha, Thor, and Steve to slip on their tactical gear and strap on their weapons. Bruce and Tony held back but only until Clint and Natasha had hopped out. Then Tony made his move just as Thor clamored out the back. Tony had “the plan” drilled into his brain just as well as they rest of them had but there was one small thing he intended to change.

He didn’t want to wait back in the van.

Unfortunately Steve noticed.

Steve’s brow knit together as he finished strapping on a slim, SHIELD issue Kevlar vest that seemed to barely fit over his wide frame. “Tony, you stay out here with Bruce.”

Tony waved his hands in the air with an affronted expression plastered on his face, like this was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing. “Are you kidding me? You want me to stay out here.”

“It’s been a while since you’ve been out with us on a mission, so yes, I want you to stay out here.”

“Taking a break from missions hasn’t turned me into a lazy asshole, Steve. “

“I didn’t say it did. But stay out here.” Steve didn’t give Tony the chance to continue the argument and jumped out the back.

Bruce raised a brow but kept silence as Tony lunged after him with a growl. “Hey! Get back here!”  As Steve jogged to catch up with Thor, Natasha, and Clint, Tony stuck his head out the door and whispered harshly after his mate, knowing that the Wolf would still be able to hear. “Fuck you, Steve!”

Bruce continued to eye him as Tony pulled his head back into the van and nearly slammed the door shut. “I thought you two promised not to fight right before going on a mission.”

“Shut up…” Bruce was referring back to a conversation he and Steve about half a year ago. The last time he and Steve had gone on a mission together in fact. There may or may not have had an argument before the mission started and Tony may or may not almost got himself shot. Then Steve had a “moment” and made Tony agree never to fight like that again. It obviously didn’t last. “He knows I mean I love him. Now help me get the systems online.”

Bruce obediently shuffled into the back of the van and started switching on the computers. “I’m starting to think that I like it better when you stay at home.”

“Shut up.” Not that it bothered Tony that _Bruce_ got to go out on more missions than him. Not at all.

“It’s alright. I know that means ‘you love me’.”

Tony snorted and turned away to hide his smile. “I’ve created a monster.”

“Technically I’d be a monster anyway, but you certainly didn’t help.”

“You smell like wet dog.”

O~O~O~O

Steve motioned for Thor to be quiet as they approached the storehouse. Everything was quiet but he could smell the scent of other Wolves. At least ten of them had passed through within the last hour and Steve knew that SHIELD’s information was correct. Between him, Thor, Natasha, and Clint last night they had been able to identify all of the Wolves who were supposed to be attending their alpha’s meeting.  But, no…he could only identify the ten scents. There were supposed to be fourteen.

There was a light _thump_ on the roof above them and he knew that meant that Natasha and Clint were getting into position. Which meant that it was time for him and Thor to separate. They couldn’t call this off just because four of the Wolves were missing. With a quick wave of his hand, Steve waved for Thor to head to the second entrance to the building around back. Tony should have everything up and running in the van by now. He was counting on it.

O~O~O~O

Tony anxiously tapped his foot on the metal panel floor of the van. His eyes were glued to the screens showing a live feed and a heat vision camera side by side. Everything was running like it should. He and Bruce had gotten communications and cameras up and knocked out the pack’s alarm system, which wasn’t as easy as it sounded. They had had a series of guards against hacking into it wirelessly but it had only taken Tony a few minutes to get through it. He had invented a similar system almost a decade ago so it hadn’t been too hard to break this one.

Just moments ago Steve had given the signal and they had stormed the building. Before he did, Tony had been able to confirm through their infrared imaging that there were in fact a large number of Shifters inside. Everything was going to plan except for the four missing Shifters. But there was no sign that they were even on the property. Nothing had gone wrong. But Tony couldn’t help but worry.

His focus had never left what he knew was Steve’s form, his multi-colored body heat signature racing across the screen. At the same time Tony’s fingers never stopped flying over his keyboard, programming small adjustments for the cameras or rerouting the data flow to ensure that they maintained control over the systems. Bruce was all nervous energy beside him as he handled his station and Tony knew that he should be calm so that Bruce would calm down more but he never had the patience for this sort of thing and all he wanted to do was run out there and Steve was an ass for making him stay outside and--

Tony’s thoughts stuttered as Steve’s voice burst through his headset. “ _There’s one going out through a hidden door on the south side of the building_!”

Tony was on his feet before Steve even finished speaking. “I got it!”

“ _What, Tony_ —!”

Muting his headset with a quick press of a button, Tony quickly switched all of his programs to continue automatically and a second later raced over to the van door and pulled it open. “See ya, Bruce!”      

He heard Bruce call after him but didn’t spend the time to figure out what he had said as he shut the door behind him. In his defense he could tell from the cameras that everyone else had their hands full. Clint had been controlling the mob from above and Natasha had swung down to help Thor where he was fighting right in the middle of the crowd. Steve was supposed to focus his attention on capturing the enterprising alpha which left no one to chase down the one who slipped out the side. They should have figured a crime ring with the intelligence to put that sort of security system together might have a way to sneak out in case of a raid.

Tony sprinted around the corner of the buildings and swore as he nearly wiped out on an oily puddle but his quick reflexes kept him upright. Rain was pounding down on him but he could hardly feel the drops on his skin. Adrenaline sang through his veins and a grim smile worked its way onto Tony’s face. This is what he had been waiting for: the feel of the hunt rushing through him. He didn’t get to go on as many missions as Steve did but Tony made sure to enjoy the ones he did make it onto to the fullest. This was definitely better than sitting behind a desk all day.  

Tony managed to get to the southern side of the building just as a panel of the exterior wall popped out and a Wolf burst through. Not wanting to give him the chance to shift and run, Tony leapt for him and ended up tumbling over the Wolf as they both crashed into the wet pavement. The Wolf was quick on his feet and was able to hop up before Tony but before he could take a single step the hidden door slammed back open and Steve bolted out just as Tony rolled back onto his feet.

That was when Tony got his first real whiff and realized that the escaping Wolf was in fact the alpha of the rogue pack.

Steve squared off with him and swung a punch. Tony knew Steve was stronger but the other was all agility and dodged it. He looked like he was about to run again so Tony darted forward and tackled him back to the ground. Tony felt his jeans tear at his knees but only tightened his grip on the Alpha Wolf, wishing that he had claws to dig into the bastard’s skin to keep him in place. Steve was there a second later and it took the two of them to wrestle him into submission.

There was mud, rain, and oil everywhere and Tony was pretty sure his knees were bleeding but they were able to keep the alpha pinned even as he thrashed against them. Steve was up by his face, a tight, serious expression drawn across his face as his hands kept a tight grip on the other Wolf’s shoulders. “Stop running! You’re just making things worse for yourself!”

The Wolf spat in Steve’s face.

Before Steve could react Tony lunged forward and slammed his head back, choking him with an arm held up tight against his windpipe. “You’re one _stupid_ son of a bitch.” His voice had lowered into a dangerous hiss and he could feel his Panther writhing to burst out and shred the other alpha for daring to disrespect his mate like that.

The only thing that kept Tony in control was when he looked over and saw that Steve was maintaining his composure. He simply wiped his face off on his shoulder and returned to his interrogation. “Where is the rest of your pack?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Tony growled and pressed his arm harder against the Wolf’s windpipe to the point where he was unable to breathe for a moment. Finally he let up, if only so that he would be able to answer them. “He asked you a question. I strongly suggest you start talking.”

The Wolf glowered then stared daggers at Steve as he spoke again. “You’re only making it worse by refusing to cooperate. If you tell us where they are I’ll see what I can do about reducing their charges.” Steve glanced back at Tony. “What are they looking at right now?”

Tony smirked. “I’d say about twenty years a piece, easy.”

Steve nodded then turned his gaze back onto the other Wolf. “Do you want your whole pack to spend twenty years in prison? For the first time in a very long time, choose to do what’s right for them.”

Something almost imperceptible changed in the Wolf’s expression and Tony knew that Steve had found his weak point. Apparently even alpha Wolves like this evil bastard cared about their pack. They were all so predictable. There seemed to be a small war going on in this one’s head and a solid minute must have passed in silence. Tony was about to give in and tell Steve to just knock him out so they could drag him into custody when something in the alpha seemed to break. He suddenly sagged in their hold and Tony would have thought that it was a trick if not for the fact that Wolves were rarely that clever in a fight. But neither him nor Steve loosened their grip any as the other Wolf finally spoke again, his voice  so quiet they had to lean in to hear him. “We caught your scents this morning around the building and I pulled in some favors to find out where you were staying…I sent my beta and two more to ambush you at your hotel. Hell of a lot of good it did me…”

Tony scoffed before realization struck him and he felt all the blood rush from his face. “Our hot—? How long ago did you send them out?!”

“About half an hour ago.”

“Dammit!”

Steve was already up on his feet, one hand on his earpiece, as Tony slammed the Wolf’s head back against the pavement, knocking him out cold. “Thor! Get out here!”

A moment later the hidden door swung open again and Thor lumbered out. There was a splatter of blood across his chest that Tony barely registered. “Do you require assistance?”

Steve jerked his head down in a nod. “Yes. Deal with him, we need to get back to Peter.”

Thor’s brow furrowed in immediate concern. “Peter? What has happened to Peter?”

Snarling, Tony had already started to run. “Just take care of him!”

“You needn’t ask again. Go, my friend!”

Tony and Steve were already half way across the property by the time Thor finished talking. Tony pressed one hand to his ear to turn his earpiece back on as he used his other hand to begin to tug his shirt off over his head. “Bruce!”

“ _Tony? What is it?_ ” By his voice, he could tell that Bruce was already worried. He must have seen everything but he hadn’t heard what the alpha had said.

“Get to the hotel!”

“ _Do you want me to pick up_ —?”

“No,” the radio line crackled as Tony interrupted the beta, “just drive! It’s Peter!”

He heard Bruce suck in a breath before his voice dropped low to a no-nonsense pitch. “ _Do you need a ride_?”

“There’s no time, I’m running!” The hotel was about three miles away if you took a direct route. Hypothetically Bruce could get their faster but he would save time by leaving now and not waiting for them to make it back to the van. “Steve is right behind me. Just go!”

Tony threw himself at an eight foot fence separating the shipping area from the main part of town, the chicken wire shuddering under his hands as Steve did the same. They both only had about half a foot more to climb before they tumbled over, Tony landing on his feet and Steve falling down into a crouch next to him. Tony met Steve’s eyes but before he could even yell at him to shift, his mate was already halfway into his Wolf form.

Tony was about to follow-suit when an unexpected voice took over his intercom. JARVIS. “ _Master Stark, Master Peter just called in that there are men trying to gain access to the room_.”

Shit! “We’re on the way. Call the cops!”

“ _I already have, Sir_.”

There was no time. Swearing, Tony kicked off his pants, shifted, and then he and Steve were running.

He had never moved so fast in his life. Tony and Steve ran side by side, both of their chests heaving as their legs whipped through the air. Tony’s heart was beating up against his ribcage and he could hear snarls burst from Steve’s lungs as he kept pace next to him.

In some part of his mind he heard humans screams as they raced through the streets, dodging cars, light poles, and pedestrians as they tore through the city. Neither of them had ever attempted the whole trip on foot before and it showed with every dead-end they turned down. Tony could feel the seconds ticking away in his heart as they struggled to find a way through the colonial maze of winding streets and buildings. After what seemed like a lifetime but in reality must have only been no longer than five minutes of searching they found a familiar road and raced down it.

There! Finally! Their hotel was at the end of this block.

Tony caught sight of the van parked outside, driven halfway up onto the sidewalk with the driver’s door ajar and the lights left on. Bruce. Bruce had made it there. The vice that had sealed around his heart loosened just a bit. Bruce was already on the scene, he would make sure that Peter was alright.

Or maybe not.

A loud, angry roar rang out from the hotel and their room came into view just in time for them to watch as one of the rogue pack’s Wolves flew out the open door and slam into the asphalt in the parking lot, knocked out cold with five deep cuts slashed open across his chest. Leaping over the unconscious man’s body, Tony made a bee-line for the door then froze when he got there. He already knew what was coming but seeing it…he wasn’t ready to see it.

Bruce had Shifted and his Wolf had Peter.

All of the fur on Tony’s back was standing on end, his ears drawn back tight against his skull. Even so his eyes were wide, his pupils dilated into thin strips as they darted from Peter to Bruce. The room around them was completely destroyed but Tony barely gave it any attention. Peter was pale as a ghost and shaking and he had curled halfway up into a ball as Bruce’s Wolf kept him close with one large clawed paw pressed against the whole of his back. His lips drew back from his teeth as if to hiss but no sound came out. The whiskers on his muzzle twitched and then he looked over at Steve who was standing stock still beside him, desperation written clearly all over his face even in his Wolf form.

If they moved forward, what would Bruce do? He wasn’t in his right mind. His Wolf had seemed to know it was part of the pack in the past but he had hurt Steve and Thor before. And even if he didn’t purposefully intend to hurt Peter, the Wolf was so strong that he could easily injure him on accident. Steve swallowed and stepped forward then stepped back.

Neither of them knew what the right move to make was and that scared Tony even more. Steve anxiously padded forward again then sat down, his head dipping low, and whimpered. Bruce ignored him and Steve tried again and whimpered louder. Tony didn’t speak “Wolf” but the intent was clear and one he had never seen Steve resort to either in his Wolf or his human form. It was a desperate entreaty to Bruce’s Wolf to give Peter back. This time Bruce’s ears twitched and he glanced back over his furry shoulder. Tony perked up at the attention but any hopes that Bruce would respond favorably were dashed as the large Wolf simply snorted and turned away.

Steve stood up as they both heard the sound of footsteps hurrying to the door and Tony looked back and hissed for Clint and Natasha to quiet down as they appeared behind them. He didn’t think that they understood exactly what he meant but they got the gist. Or maybe their instant quiet was more due to the sight of Bruce’s Wolf holding a sniffling Peter in its paws.

Clint sucked in a breath, all of his typical humor wiped from his face. “What do we do?”

Steve shook his head. Natasha’s jaw clenched. “Can’t you talk to him, Steve? You’ve talked him down before.”

Steve shook his head again. Bruce was acting differently than he usually did when he Shifted. Looking at the Wolf’s body language, Tony had the growing suspicion that Bruce was trying to protect Peter even though the real threat had been dealt with. Did the Wolf know that no one else in the pack would hurt Peter? Did it know that Peter was Steve and Tony’s son? Tony didn’t know how many of Bruce’s thoughts and memories translated over into the Wolf’s brain.

The Wolf didn’t seem to want Steve to get any closer but maybe he could slip in. Bruce had known Tony for so long, even before his experiment with Hydra’s serum failed and he turned himself into, into this. And he was an alpha too, so the Wolf should respect him too. Right? Right.

Bracing himself in case Bruce’s Wolf decided to lash out and try to claw at him, Tony hunkered down close to the floor and slunk forward. His ears were still pressed tight against his head and he could feel his tail whip about then fall straight and still, an instinctual response to reduce the amount of movement he was making. Bruce’s Wolf turned a calculating eye on him but his ears just twitched a bit as he stayed quiet, almost like he was waiting to see what Tony was up to. Steve tried to follow him but immediately stopped as Bruce’s Wolf released a low, warning rumble. Tony was on his own then.

Tony could feel the weight of the others’ silent stares as he stepped carefully around one of the destroyed beds and closer to where Bruce was crouched on the far side of the room. It growled but let Tony slowly slink forward and slip his nose past his paws towards where it was almost cradling Peter against the fur on its chest. Tony was very aware of how close the knife-like claws on Bruce’s paws were to his throat and eyes. But he was more focused right now on how close they were to Peter. His ears flicked forward as his son’s small sniffles reached him and huffed out a gentle noise.

Oh god, he should have let Steve do this.

As far as he knew Peter had never seen him in his Cat form before. What if he got even more frightened? What if he didn’t recognize him?

Peter started at the sound and then without an ounce of hesitation twisted his body around to reach over and curl his arms around Tony’s neck. “Dad!”

A wave of relief washed over him and Tony nuzzled him and licked at Peter’s cheek, his rough tongue catching on his son’s skin. He shouldn’t have doubted Peter. Just because he couldn’t shift didn’t mean that he wasn’t still a Wolf. Of course he would know who he was. He could smell him.

The happy feelings were cut off as Bruce’s Wolf reminded Tony it was still there by letting out a graveled rumble. Tony’s ears instantly fell back again and he knew he had to act quickly before the Wolf decided to be in a less charitable mood. From the way Tony was standing all it would take was a quick swipe of his claws for the Wolf to disembowel him and that sounded like a really shitty way to end the evening.

Carefully, very carefully, Tony bit down on the back collar of the night shirt Peter was wearing, making sure not to snag any skin in the process, and lifted him out of Bruce’s paws. Peter whimpered but curled up and didn’t fight Tony’s hold. Tony made sure not to make any sudden movements as he retreated back towards the door and angled his body as he walked so that he could keep one eye on the Wolf while keeping Peter as far away from him as possible. Now that Peter was out of his hold, the Wolf actually looked a bit bereft and had started to awkwardly shuffle about like it was searching for something else to do with itself.

As soon as Tony made it to where the others were standing Steve did a quick circle around them, as if to check that they were both unhurt, before stepping in front of them. Natasha moved forward with him and blocked Tony and Peter from Bruce’s line of sight. Her lips were drawn into a firm line but Tony saw the fear beginning to fade from her eyes though she still had her gun out and in position. “Okay, clear. Calm Bruce down so we can get out of here.”

As Steve woofed an agreement Clint knelt down beside Tony and Peter, his hand running over Peter’s back as Tony gently deposited him on the ground. “Hey, buddy, you’re okay. You hurt?”

 Peter nestled tighter up against Tony’s chest and dug his small fingers into his fur as he shook his head. Sighing with relief, Clint met Tony’s eyes before reaching out and urging Peter away with a gentleness he didn’t often seem capable of. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Natasha spoke back to them without turning her head, her gaze still locked onto Bruce. “Take him to the car while we sort this out.”

“Sure thing.” Clint peeled a reluctant Peter off of Tony and held him close as he rose to his feet. “Let’s go wait outside while they get Uncle Bruce settled. Oh, hey, what’s this?” Spotting a small pile of cream fur tucked beside the overturned bed closest to the door, Clint snuck over and snatched it up. It was Peter’s stuffed wolf. “Look, Snow’s here. Let’s go get her a snack, huh?”

Peter lurched forward at the sight of his toy and almost tumbled out of Clint’s arms in his effort to grab it. Tony huffed out an appreciative noise as Clint passed by him on his way out then turned back to watch the rest of this play out.

It was Steve’s turn. Now that Peter was out of harm’s way Steve had regained his powerful stance. As soon as he changed his posture, Bruce’s Wolf’s attention snapped back to him and it watched him warily as Steve marched forward and growled. After a long moment of the two Wolves staring each other down, Bruce’s Wolf finally capitulated and slowly lowered himself down onto his belly. As soon as the Wolf submitted itself Steve shifted back and, just as he hoped, the Wolf followed suit and a second later Bruce was sitting on the floor in his human form.

He was shivering and trembling and Steve reached over to one of the ruined beds and pulled the blanket off to wrap around his beta’s shoulders. “Bruce, it’s okay. You’re back.”

At the sound of Steve’s hoarse voice, Bruce came back to himself before a look of horror washed over his face as he realized where he was. “What-what happened? Peter! Where’s Peter?!”

“He’s with Clint.”

“Did I hurt him? Steve, did I hurt Peter?”

“No, no Bruce.” Steve crouched down next to Bruce and put a steadying hand on his knee to try and anchor his Beta. ”You saved him. You scared him a little bit, but you didn’t hurt him.”

Bruce’s shoulder sagged and he closed his eyes and Tony could smell his relief coming off of him in a wave. “Thank god.”

Tony shifted and walked across the room to sit next to Steve and he reached out to rest his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “You did good, Bruce.”

“Tony…” Bruce reached up to rest his hand on Tony’s arm, leaning into the touch. “Thank goodness you two weren’t far behind me.”

“We were far enough behind you to give you the chance to tear through that Wolf outside.” Tony sniffed at the air. There had been more Wolves there recently but, “There were supposed to be four of them but I’m guessing if the others had any brains at all that they hightailed it out of here.”

Bruce shook his head hard. “I was afraid that would happen. When I got here I saw them at the door and then they opened it and…I, I just panicked. I just lost control. But, god, I was afraid of what I would do to Peter but I couldn’t stop it.”

Tony squeezed Bruce’s shoulder. “So were we. But your Wolf was like that gorilla with the kitten.”

Bruce choked out a laugh and corrected him. “You mean Koko?”

“If you say so.”

Steve smiled at both of them before letting out a short breath. “You did very well, Bruce. And the good news is it seems like you’re being able to shift back with fewer problems.”

“…I’m starting to try to work with it and not against it.”

“Good.”

“Uh, Steve? Tony?” Clint leaned through the doorway. Peter wasn’t with him so he must be back in the van. “There’re some cops out here and I don’t know what to tell them.”

Cops? Tony blinked as Bruce pulled the bed sheet tighter around him. “Oh shit, I forgot I told JARVIS to call them. Steve, go talk to them.”

“Why don’t you go?”

“I’m not good with authority.”

Steve tilted his head then nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll be right out, Clint. As soon as I find some pants.”

O~O~O~O

Once they were able to convince the police that their story was what really happened and that no one but the Wolves who were still alive deserved to be taken into custody, which had included a call to SHIELD to help sort everything out, their pack was released. Thor, who had been standing guard the whole time over the rest of the Wolves they had brought down that night, was released from his duties as SHIELD agents swarmed into the storehouse now that the Shifters were subdued to get everything settled out. Steve had called a taxi to drive him, Peter, Clint, and Thor to a new hotel while Tony, Bruce, and Natasha stayed at the old one to try and clean up what they could then take the van back to meet the others when they were done.

The manager of the hotel was pretty angry—to put it mildly—but Tony soothed her a bit by writing a twenty thousand dollar check for the ruined room on the spot and with a promise that they would take care of any legal issues that might follow.

Finally Tony made it back to their new hotel room and stumbled inside, Bruce only a few steps behind him. Steve was sitting up on the bed closest to the door with Peter curled up asleep on his lap. The television in the room was on, the volume lowered to a quiet murmur, and there two empty plates and cups on the side table that meant that Steve must have gotten Peter some food.

Bruce immediately shuffled over to the second bed and collapsed down onto it, flopping down onto the comforter and only taking the time to weakly kick off his shoes before closing his eyes. Tony shook his head then moved across the room and crawled up onto the first bed beside Steve. His mate greeted him with a soft kiss, Peter murmuring as Steve’s arms changed their grip on his small body.

“How is he?”

“Scared. But I think he’ll be okay.”

“I talked it out with the old hotel and just called the police precinct and the local SHIELD branch to make sure everything is sorted out. They all wanted a forwarding address but it looks like we can head home first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Good. Home sounds good.”

For maybe the first time in his life, Tony really and truly agreed.

O~O~O~O

“This can’t happen again.”

Tony nodded as Steve paced the length of their bedroom in front of where Tony was sitting on the edge of their bed. They were home again, safe, but Tony knew that the fear of what could have happened was lingering in both of their minds. “Peter isn’t allowed to be involved in any aspect of our missions. That’s all there is to it.”

“Tony…We need to figure out what to do when this happens again. If we need to leave Peter alone again for a mission and Pepper isn’t available to watch him. Because it’s going to.”

Tony knew that. Logically he knew that. Another big mission would come up and they would all want to go out. And Pepper was busy and occasionally out of state or out of the country for work. They wouldn’t be able to rely on her to always be there to babysit, even if she would have been happy to do so. “Peter can stay here. He’s safe here.” Tony had built this place from the ground up. It was secure as a private residence could get. It wasn’t a fortress but it there were systems in place to stop Shifters from breaking in. And JARVIS was here. He couldn’t be a real babysitter for Peter but he would be able to keep an eye on things when they couldn’t.

Steve shook his head. He didn’t want to leave Peter alone again. “We can ask Phil to watch him for us. Or even Charles and Erik—“

Tony instantly shot that down. “No. No one with any connection to SHIELD. I want to keep Peter as far away from this circus as possible. I’ll just have to ask Pepper to come over and watch him. She knows the house so Peter won’t even have to go anywhere.” It would be abusing his power over her as a boss but that hadn’t stopped him from doing it before. But even as he said it he knew it wouldn’t really work. If they got short notice for a mission or is something was urgent and she was in the Malibu offices she would be physically unable to come back and watch Peter.

“What if we bring trouble back?”

“We won’t. And there’s nowhere in the world safer for Peter than here.”

Steve stopped pacing and met Tony’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

Tony snorted. “Sorry to ruin it for you, sweetheart, but you really think you marking your scent by running around the perimeter of my property is the only security I have on this place?”

“Well, I know you have JARVIS—“

Tony shook his head. “JARVIS is just the start. All the property I own is linked into a security network that’s not just state of the art, it’s at least ten years ahead of what everyone else has. I know because I invented most of what everyone else has. I save the best for myself. There’s only one person who has ever gotten through—“

“Loki.”

“—Don’t interrupt me. There’s only one person who has ever gotten through and I fixed the loophole that let him slip in the week after it happened.”

Steve’s brow pinched up and then gently shook his head. “Tony, he’s been sneaking in for the past year.”

“Nope.”

“But—“

“He would have been ‘sneaking’ if I didn’t know about it.” Especially in the beginning, when Tony was a little more aggressive in his displays of displeasure about having the Raven in his home, Loki would pretend to leave then sneak in when Tony had his back turned. He knew that Steve knew about it and allowed it out of some ridiculous notion of charity or fairness, but had decided not to say anything unless it got out of hand.

Steve’s eyes widened a fraction in surprise. “You knew? All this time?”

Tony shrugged. “The first time I didn’t realize it until JARVIS snitched  on you but then I increased the security.”

“And you didn’t say anything.”

“I’ve got better things to do with my life. The point is no one gets in here without me knowing about it.”

Steve nodded then moved to sit down beside Tony on the mattress. “But that still leaves the question of who is going to watch him. We can’t pull Ms. Potts away from her job every time we need someone to keep an eye on Peter.

Tony wanted to point out that ‘Ms. Pott’s’ job was to do what Tony wanted her to do but he knew that wasn’t entirely true. And he had too much respect for Pepper to think so, no matter what he said when he was teasing her. But they didn’t have anyone else in their lives who wasn’t pack who he would trust to keep Peter safe.

Steve sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “This whole thing is just…” Words seemed to fail him and he looked as tired as Tony felt.            

Tony watched him for a long moment then heaved a breath. “Fine.”

Steve lifted his head and turned in confusion. “What?”

“There’s only one way this is going to work. We both know it.”

Steve tilted his head to the side before he figured out what he meant. “Tony…”

“It’s fine. I need to refocus on my company anyway.” They couldn’t both keep doing this. Not with Peter around. Not when it might put him in danger.

Shaking his head, Steve moved closer and rested his hand over Tony’s. “I want what’s best for Peter but I don’t want this to put a wall between us.”

Tony shook off his touch and threw his hands up in defeat. “What do you want me to say, Steve? I can’t pretend like this is a choice I want to make but between the two of us this is the only thing that makes sense.” They both knew it. Tony already stayed home seven times out of ten. Just because it were those three times out of ten where he was actually able to go out on missions that made Tony feel like he was really making a difference in the world didn’t mean anything. Tony had Stark Industries, this was all Steve had. Steve’s success with the missions made national headlines and Tony wasn’t even out as a Shifter.

“You’re okay with staying home while I go out on missions?”

Tony grimaced and shook his head. “I can still help remotely.” At least he could tell himself that. The answer sounded weak even to his own ears. “And I shouldn’t be leaving work as much as I do anyway…”

“But…?”

Of course there was a ‘but’. This wasn’t the way he thought things were going to go between him and Steve. He hadn’t started this thinking he was going to be relegated to the position of an army wife. Like a beta, or an omega. Jesus, how was this his life? “ _But_ I don’t like the idea of not being there to watch your back. And I just…It should be the other way around.”

Steve tilted his head in question and Tony scowled again. “You’re better with Peter. You should be the one to spend more time with him.”

Steve’s expression softened and he reached forward to hold his hand again. Tony didn’t pull away this time. “Peter loves you just as much.”

Tony snorted, not quite believing it, and he could tell that it broke Steve’s heart a little bit.

After a moment, though, Steve sighed. “Thank you.” And he meant it. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“Don’t be stupid. This is what being a parent is supposed to be like right?” There was a bitter edge to Tony’s voice but he couldn’t keep it out. He loved Peter but he didn’t want this. For the first time in over a decade the desire to just be able to speak to his own dad flared up hot and piercing in Tony’s chest. What sacrifices had _he_ made for Tony?  

“Yeah. It is.” Steve took a breath then leaned forward to press his lips against Tony’s temple. “I love you.”

“I know.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is finally out! This is the chapter where they story line really starts to pick up so I hope you all are ready for it! Tony, Steve, the rest of the pack, and we the readers get a taste of what the future holds in store for them and it looks like it's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride. ;)

Before Tony knew it six years had gone by in a blur. The only way he had even noticed the passage of time in his busy days was the fact that Peter somehow just kept growing. Besides that everything continued on as normal. Well, the new “normal” where the days blurred together into one indistinguishable, forgettable smear of appointments and deadlines on his calendar. Not that Tony bothered to read the calendar half the time.

Whether he checked his schedule or not, Tony threw himself back into his work at Stark Industries. To a degree it actually felt good. Ever since he had left Steve all those years ago and nearly killed him in the process, Tony had tried to balance out both sides of his life: the CEO and the mission-running pack member. It hadn’t been easy but it had been worth it. Now he was still a pack member, and he did still actually remotely participate in missions, but he was able to reorient himself so that his main goals were based around his company. And it flourished under his attentions.

He was able to devote time during the day to developing new technology and in three months had outstripped what his whole Research and Development team had managed to do in three years. Tony didn’t blame them though. He had personally hired the best. He was just better.

It hadn’t all been perfect or easy—nothing ever was—but today Tony was facing a particularly annoying problem. And this specific problem wasn’t in his workshop. No, it was currently sitting in one of the smaller conference rooms in Stark Tower, which is exactly where Tony was heading now.

Pepper was hot on his tail as he marched down the hall from his office towards the elevator. Tony was _pissed_ which made him even angrier because the day had actually been going pretty well until about an hour ago. He had woken up after a night full of sex with Steve—he had just returned from another mission the night before—then managed to get Peter off to elementary school on time for once before stopping off at the donut shop on the way to work. But Tony could tell Pepper was just as upset and it settled him a bit. Just enough to keep him from causing anyone any physical damage. He hissed under his breath as he jammed his finger into the elevator call button. “This is a fucking nightmare. And we’re sure this data’s correct?”

Pepper sighed and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen loose from her bun back behind her ear. “It’s your intel, Tony, you tell me.”

“Damn it…” His data was never wrong. “I don’t understand. How could we both miss this?” Despite Tony’s harsh tone he wasn’t berating either Pepper or himself. He was honestly asking. It was incredibly difficult to sneak anything by him and if he was distracted enough for it to happen then Pepper always caught it. She was just as thorough as he was and they both took this sort of thing very seriously. 

The elevator came and they both stepped inside before Pepper selected their floor and the doors silently slid closed again. “He covered his tracks well.”

“Understatement of the year.” The walls of the elevator were mirrored to try and make the small box feel larger but all it was doing right now was giving Tony a view of the stern frown on his face. “Have security meet us in the conference room, this might get messy.”

Pepper dutifully pulled out her phone but she narrowed her eyes at Tony as she sent out a quick message. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m just going to talk to him.” He had tried for innocent but by the look on her face he hadn’t fooled anybody.

“Maybe you should let me do the talking.”

Tony’s answer was immediate. “I don’t think so. He used us and played my company. He made this personal so now I’m going to personally handle it.”

Pepper gave an understanding nod. There was a new, concerned look in her eyes now. “Don’t lose your temper, Tony. The last time that happened you flipped a table over and that can’t happen in mixed company.”

Humans weren’t strong enough to manage that very easily. But that was just fine. Tony knew how to do ‘angry’ as a human just as well as he could show the same emotion as a Shifter. “I know how I need to behave.”

This wasn’t how he wanted to spend his time today. Steve had just gotten home last night from a two week long stakeout in Colorado and Tony had hoped to get home early, maybe even do something nice for dinner.

 As Steve had continued leading the rest of the pack in SHIELD-issued missions they had become more involved, longer term outings. The world was slowly continuing to change and SHIELD was starting to hold more sway over local and larger scale governments so Steve and his and his pack’s particular skill set had never been in higher demand. And the years had done nothing to slow Steve down. If anything, he was just now reaching his prime. He still had all the strength and speed of his youth but now also had almost a decade of experience leading a team to back it all up.

Tony couldn’t help but be proud of his accomplishments even if there was still a small feeling of jealousy eating away at his heart every time Steve announced that he would be leaving on another job and Tony knew he was going to be left at home to keep an eye on Peter. To be fair though, Steve had somehow managed to be an active and present force in Peter’s life. When he was away he tried to call or email every night and when he was home Steve made sure that Peter never felt anything other than supported and loved. And he also made sure that Tony got a break from it all. In short, Steve was still perfect, a superhero and a super-dad, and if Tony hadn’t been the one mated to him he would have resented him for not only doing everything so well but being so god-damned earnest and genuine about it. They still occasionally fought and butted heads—they wouldn’t be ‘them’ if they didn’t—but Tony couldn’t even conceive anymore of living in a world that didn’t have Steve in it. And he all he had wanted was to get through an average day in the office so he could go home, get them something to eat, and then get some serious sex in. But no, now he had _this_ to deal with.

The elevator came to a stop and Tony stalked out, Pepper looking no less threatening at his side. Employees wandering the halls literally ran to get out of their way and ducked inside open doorways to avoid them. Everyone—whether Tony knew them personally or not—knew it took a lot to get their bosses worked up and they made it obvious they didn’t want to be any part of it.

When Tony reached the assigned conference room he threw the door open and strode inside. A quick check of the smaller room showed that the security team Pepper had requested was already present. The four men and woman stood carefully placed about the room with one in each back corner and two flanking Tony and Pepper as soon as they stepped into the room. Aside from them there was only one other person in the room and it literally the last person on Earth Tony wanted to have anywhere near him.

Justin Hammer was all smiles, his feet kicked up onto the conference table with a faked nonchalance that was so uniquely, annoyingly him. “Tony, what’s all this about? If you wanted to talk to me about your investments there are a lot less forceful ways to go about it.”

Tony narrowed his eyes and tried to make the human combust with his glare. “Knock it off, Hammer. I know.”

He saw Hammer’s smile falter a bit before returning in full force. Flipping his feet off of the table, he clasped his hands in front of him and it took everything bit of restraint Tony had to pretend he didn’t see the condescension in the man’s eyes. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

Pepper subtly put her hand on Tony’s arm and he swallowed back the hiss that was threatening to burst out. But her touch didn’t stop him from adopting a very alpha, very dominant stance. There was nothing particularly inhuman about it but as he straightened his shoulders and straightened his spine he _felt_ intimidating and he knew he looked it. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. We know about your dirty dealings. I frankly don’t know how you’d ever think that you could keep this from me.  Consider that shipment you just brought in this morning to be your last.”

Satisfaction coursed hot and bitter through Tony’s veins as he finally saw a sliver of fear cross over Hammer’s face. Money had always been that slime-ball’s weak point. “Can’t we talk this through? Listen, if you’d just let me explain, this is a really good deal! You could make millions—“

Tony raised his brows and huffed out a mirthless laugh. “I already have millions. And as it turns out I also have morals. Consider your contract with Stark Industries terminated. I’m pulling all of my funding and will have trucks at your facilities tomorrow morning to retrieve all of my tech.”

“But Tony--!”

“ _Don’t_ call me Tony.” There was no was in hell Hammer would ever earn that level of familiarity with him. Any respect he might have had for the man had vanished this morning when Pepper had come to him with copies of finance reports and shipping manifestos that someone in Hammer Industries had tried to sweep under the rug. “You’re very, _very_ lucky I’m not calling the police.” The only reason he wasn’t was that the long legal battle that would undoubtedly ensue afterwards just wasn’t worth it for a piece of trash like Hammer. That, and it would put a stain on Stark Industries reputation by association.

Hammer shoved his chair out and leapt to his feet. Tony felt Pepper startle at the sudden movement but held his ground. Hammer wasn’t a threat; he was a grown man throwing a tantrum. “You can’t do this to me!”

“I just did. Now get the hell out of my building.”

“I’m not going anywhere!”

With that Hammer reached into his jacket, there was a flash of silver, and chaos erupted.

O~O~O~O

Checking the clock on the kitchen wall, Steve let out a small hum. It was almost six o’ clock. Tony had said this morning that he would try to make it home by then. Hopefully if he was going to be much later he would call. Steve was hoping to make a nice dinner for everyone but he definitely wanted Tony to be there when it was ready.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. They could always have a late dinner. That might work better for everyone else anyway. Bruce had just gotten back from the SHIELD labs and was getting cleaned up. Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Loki were out in the Gym and would probably need to clean up too once they came back into the main house. And Peter probably wouldn’t mind holding off for another hour. Steve’s eyes drifted to his son where he was sitting at the kitchen counter hunched over his computer. He looked like he was still pretty busy.

Smiling, Steve crossed the room to where Peter was quietly doing his homework. Knowing that he rarely had difficulty completing school assignments, Steve figured that the frown on his son's face was for a different reason. Not that it was particularly unusual. As Peter drew closer to his teen years he had started to slowly get less enthusiastic when it came to anything school related. He was still getting good grades and his teachers never had anything bad to say about him during parent-teacher meetings but there was definitely something going on.

Having been a victim of such things himself Steve was afraid that Peter was being bullied. They had set him up in an integrated elementary school with Shifters and human children but maybe when it was time for Peter to graduate to middle school Steve would have to have a serious talk with Tony about moving him into an all human school. It might not be the message he and Tony should be sending to the world as celebrity parents but if it meant that fewer people would pick on Peter for his unusual condition it would be worth it.

“How’s it going, Peter?”

Peter glanced up then sighed as their eyes met. “Fine. I guess. I’m supposed to do a report due next Friday about a state but I don’t know what to write.”

Steve perked up a bit and leaned in to get a glimpse of his son’s screen. He could definitely help with a Social Studies question. “Let’s see what you’ve come up with.” Not only would he be able to help Peter, but it would also give him something else to think about rather than wonder when Tony was going to make it back.

They were able to work for a solid forty-five minutes and get a decent outline for Peter’s essay started before they were interrupted. Steve looked up as the front door slammed shut and JARVIS barely had enough time to announce that ‘Master Stark’ was home before Tony himself stalked into the kitchen. Steve and Peter both paused mid-conversation as Tony came in and walked straight to his liquor cabinet. The Cat was trying to keep a neutral expression pasted on his face but Steve knew better by the sharp glint in his mate’s eye and the muted anger seeping off of him in his scent. That, and the fact that Tony went directly for the bottle of whiskey.

Peter’s wide-eyed gaze slid over to Steve and he cleared his throat. “Tony, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just,” Tony poured himself a shot of whiskey and downed it in one go, “tired. Really, really tired. Exhausted in fact.” Steve relaxed when he saw Tony cap the bottle, the Cat’s hand then moving to rub over his face. He didn’t want Tony to be over-drinking in front of their son.

Peter fidgeted on his seat and Steve saw him grab onto a small stack of papers he had stuck underneath his laptop. “Hey, Dad?”

Tony grunted, his fingers sliding up through his hair. “Not now, Peter, it feels like a bomb just went off inside my skull.”

Peter released the papers and quickly turned back to his laptop. Steve would have reproached Tony but his mate really did seem out of sorts. “Do you want to just head upstairs and lie down? I can bring you something to eat in a bit.”

Tony’s hand fell back down to rest at his side. “Oh my god, that sounds amazing.”           

“Alright. Go head up then.”

After Tony disappeared Peter turned his eyes back on Steve and bit his bottom lip uncertainly. “Was it something I said?”

Steve was shaking his head before Peter was even able to finish his question. “No.” And he knew the last thing Tony would have wanted was for Peter to think his bad mood was his fault. “He must have had a rough day at work. Tell you what, I’ll put together some dinner for him and find out what happened for the both of us.”

A smile flickered onto Peter’s lips and he nodded. “Sure. Thanks, Pop.”

Smiling back, Steve ruffled Peter’s hair before getting up and walking over to the fridge. Now that Tony was home and it seemed like he was going to eat separate from the rest of the pack anyway there was no point in waiting to cook the rest of them dinner. He took a few minutes to start a pot of stew then while he was waiting for the pot to heat up, Steve pulled a quick sandwich together for Tony. By the time he finished up and put the sandwich fixings away the stew was at a boil so he turned it down to simmer, grabbed Tony’s plate, and headed upstairs.           

When Steve got to their room the lights were still on but Tony had flopped down onto the bed fully clothed, even with his shoes on, and buried his head underneath one of the pillows. Raising a brow, Steve paused then casually sat down on the mattress next to his mate’s prone form and set the plate down on the nightstand. “So…” He let the word hang in the air for a moment but pushed on when Tony didn’t so much as twitch, “Do you want to tell me about what’s going on?”

“No.”

The grunt was a little muffled by the pillow but Steve still heard it clear enough to know that the refusal was more out of exhaustion than stubbornness this time. That was good. Tired Tony was easier to convince than stubborn Tony was. “Peter’s worried. So am I.”

A few seconds past then Tony pulled the pillow off of his head and glared half-heartedly up at Steve. “Where’s my food?”

After a few bites Tony was a bit more willing to talk when Steve gave him a little nudge as a reminder that he was still there and wasn’t likely to leave without an answer. The Cat let out a sigh, took a particularly vicious bite of his sandwich, then began to explain. “I’m dealing with some bastard who was trying to reinvest Stark Tech into some less than legal avenues. We’re trying to keep the whole thing under wraps so the press and our investors don’t get word of it which is a shame because the dick should be getting some jail time, or at least be hit with some heavy fines for the shit he’s trying to pull.”

Steve’s brow furrowed and he leaned back against the headboard as Tony continued to eat. “That sounds serious.”

“It is. And Hammer’s decided to make it personal.”

“What do you mean?”

Tony gave a casual shrug as he finished off the last of his sandwich. “He threw a tantrum today during an inquisition and had to be dragged out by security.”

Thoughts sprang up in Steve’s mind of a full grown man throwing the sort of tantrums Peter used to in the middle of Stark Tower. He was sure that’s not what actually happened but it made for an amusing mental image. “What did he do?”

Tony shrugged again. “He reverted back to grade school and started calling me names. And then he pulled a gun on me.”

All amusement was instantly burned away from Steve’s mind and he lurched away from the headboard. “ _What?_ Tony!” He couldn’t have mentioned that _first_?

“Down, boy.  I’m fine. He didn’t get a shot off.”

“Where is he now?”

“Calm down, Steve. You’re leaking testosterone like a faucet, and not the enticing kind. He—and his lawyers—are being dealt with. And, before you ask, no, you cannot go tear his throat open. I’m not a damsel in distress in need of rescue.”

Steve growled but took in a deep breath and willed himself to relax. He knew that on some level Tony was right. He was very capable of taking care of himself. But that didn’t mean much to Steve’s own alpha instincts. Someone had pointed a gun at his mate. Thank god he hadn’t been there because he probably would have killed the man. He went over Tony’s words in his head and reminded himself that it sounded like Tony had it handled. His mate would be alright. The danger had passed. “Are you sure everything is under control?”

Tony had been watching him closely throughout his entire inner-debate and seemed satisfied with the result. “One hundred percent. If there’s one thing I know how to manage it’s a legal team, and by ‘manage’ I mean hire the best there is and let them do their work. Hammer isn’t the problem anymore, it’s the technology he sold onto the black market and weaponization of it that’s going to be causing me headaches.”

“You’ll let me know if you need help.” It wasn’t a question. It was a command. If there was any way that Steve could give Tony a hand with any of this he wanted his mate to tell him.

But Tony just rolled his eyes and passed his empty plate back over to Steve. “If anything comes up that’s more urgent than your day job, yes, I’ll let you know. Now what would be really amazing would be if you could turn off the lights, let me get in a few hours of sleep to try to get rid of my migraine, then come back and wake me up so we can get some sex in and salvage at least part of this evening. Sound good?”

Steve wanted to disagree but he had to admit, certain parts of Tony’s plan were definitely appealing. “Fine. Do you want anything else to eat tonight?”

“Only you in about five hours.”

“Alright.” He could probably manage that.

O~O~O~O

The only reason Tony got any sleep that night was because Steve kept his word, came back after eating with the rest of the pack, and fucked him into the mattress. And it was pretty fantastic. But after that rather impressive workout, Tony was only asleep for less than three hours before his eyes flickered back open and he was completely awake again. He rolled over and took a moment just to watch Steve, the Wolf still fast asleep beside him. His blond hair was a little mussed but aside from that he looked entirely too perfect. He should have at least had the good graces to drool a little bit or something to make Tony feel a bit better about himself. But no, Steve looked better than ever. His relaxed features made him look a few years younger but even in his sleep he somehow managed to retain a certain authoritative presence that was all alpha.

For a minute Tony wished he could draw like Steve could, because this would be a perfect moment to capture. But wait…Tony smirked and snagged his phone, making sure to turn the flash off before snapping a few shots with his camera. Technology saved the day again. Now he would have a nice little memento for the next time Steve got called away for work.

But even Steve could only hold his attention for so long.

Very carefully freeing himself from Steve’s arms, Tony slipped out of bed, redressed, and silently padded out of the room. It was around two in the morning and since tomorrow—today, was a weekend that meant he didn’t have to worry about how late he stayed up. So he was going to get some work done.

A smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he descended the stairs into his workshop. “JARVIS, look alive buddy. Get those files open for the new navigation system I was working on.”

“ _For you, Sir, anything_.”

Tony raised a brow as he opened up the door to the basement. With a quick wave of his hand he opened up a holographic panel and had the lights up, the computers running, and his music playing. “That was an unusually compliant response. Should I be worried?”

“ _Of course not. But may I suggest that you address the issues you uncovered in your testing of your last invention before beginning a new one?_ ”

“Your suggestion is noted and ignored because it’s boring. Now, I’ve got some work to do. Get Dummy to start up the espresso machine, will you?”

He heard the AI sigh, JARVIS almost sounding as exasperated as Steve looked some times. “ _Very well, Sir._ ”

Tony happily spent the next few hours tinkering until his stomach loudly reminded him that food was important. A quick check of the clock told him that it was already eight in the morning and he had to remember that the only thing he had eaten in twenty-four hours was the sandwich Steve have made for him before he let himself put his tools down and headed for the door.

As Tony came up from his workshop he found that he was no longer the only one awake. The house was humming with energy and fresh scents lingered through the halls. Okay, most of the house was probably already up but there was only one person downstairs and that was Peter in the media room. Smiling softly, Tony leaned on the doorway into the room as he wiped his greasy hands off on his work shirt. “Hey there, sport. What are you up to?”

Peter looked over from his spot on the couch. He had a bowl of colorful-looked cereal in his lap and with his pajamas still on there was no denying he was absolutely adorable. Not that Tony was about to tell the ten-year-old that. He was already too old to appreciate that sort of thing. “Nothing. I’m just watching cartoons.”

“I can see that.” Tony’s smile fell away as Peter seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning to face the TV again. He almost seemed nervous…Then it hit Tony that the last time they had seen each other he had been a little short with the kid and guilt pricked sharp in his chest. “Sorry about last night. I was, tired from work but I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” It wasn’t out of the ordinary span of behavior for him but that was no excuse for making Peter deal with it.

Peter stiffened a bit before a small smile spread across his lips and he nodded .“It’s okay.” Seeing that expression, Tony knew he was forgiven. Good. He was going to have to get a lot better at this whole thing by the time Peter hit his first brush with puberty and started testing his boundaries. Tony remembered a lot of screaming and arguing between himself and his Dad and he didn’t want to repeat that with his own son. Which meant he was going to have to continue to improve his attitude. At least as far as making snide comments or off-the-cuff remarks went. Everyone else was used to it and knew that Tony meant well but Peter was still growing up and might take something personally. God knew Tony did when Howard brushed him off or made some sort of sarcastic statement. Of course they had both been alphas so that hadn’t helped.

As Peter looked back at him Tony found a part of him wishing that the little beta Wolf could stay ten-years-old forever. But that wouldn’t be fair to him. Beside the fact that it was biologically impossible. “How long is Pop going to be able to stay this time?”

Tony went through his mental ‘Steve Schedule’ then shrugged. “Can’t say for sure but it looks like at least a week.”

“Good.” Peter nodded his head then perked up so abruptly that he almost knocked his cereal bowl out of his own lap. “Hey, can we go to the Science Museum this weekend?”

The request caught Tony a bit off guard but the more the thought about it the more he liked it. It wouldn’t be too long of a drive and a day in the city could be fun. It was hard for him to think of that particular museum without flinching a bit inside. It was the same one the pack had been sent to by SHIELD all those years ago when Hydra had held their gala to treat their investors to a high-class party and a sneak-peek at their newest biological weapons. But he had been to the museum since, with Steve and Peter, and Peter really seemed to enjoy it in the past. “We can probably squeeze in a trip. Why?”

Peter smiled again, all excitement. If he had a tail it would be wagging. “I read online they just opened a new exhibit on genetics and I want to go check it out.”

Not what you’d expect a ten year old to say. “You don’t think it’ll be too boring?”

But Peter just tilted his head. “Why would it be?”

“No reason.” It figured his kid would grow up to be a nerd. Like father, like son, even when genetics weren’t involved. “How about this, I’ll get your Pop to come too and it’ll be just the three of us for a few hours. How does that sound?”

Peter’s smile brightened. “Good!” As a Wolf, Peter naturally loved being with his pack but he always appreciated a little extra attention from the pack’s lead alphas, especially since they were his parents.

Steve of course was in complete agreement with their plan and decided that they should head out that day before either he or Tony got too busy with something else. Everyone else was happy to let them go off by themselves for a few hours and Bruce promised to keep an eye on things while they were away. The worst that was likely to happen was that Clint would injure himself again so Tony wasn’t too worried.

Peter was chatty on the car ride into the city, his eagerness about the trip making him more outgoing than usual. Tony and Steve both kept the conversation going, happy to get the chance to learn more about how Peter was doing without making it seem like they were prying.

Traffic was good and they arrived a little after noon. Finding parking was a bit tricky but Steve insisted that he could find a reasonably priced lot despite Tony’s arguments that they should just pay the valet for a good spot. It ended up with them parking about five blocks away from the museum and walking. It wasn’t too long of a walk but Tony still would have bitched about it if Peter hadn’t been there looking so happy. And, if Tony was honest with himself, it was kind of nice to walk through the city like a normal couple and their kid. He and Steve had both worn inconspicuous clothing on purpose and blended in with the rest of the people hustling down the sidewalk. Tony had closed off his scent but with the amount of foot traffic no one was likely to suspect that they were anything but human unless another Shifter passed by. But one whiff of Steve’s powerful alpha scent and they’d be a moron to do anything other than keep walking. The only way they really stood out was the fact that they were still a gay couple with a child but they were in a big city so no one cared.

It was really nice.

The last time they were there Tony had bought an annual family membership so they were able to walk right into the museum with a quick flash of his membership card. As soon as they were through the doors Peter grabbed onto each of them with one hand and scrambled across the marble floors to where he knew the new exhibit had been installed. He knew the layout of this place better than either Steve or Tony did.

When they made it to the right room Peter released their arms and darted forward to where a small crowd had already gathered to take in the new displays on their opening weekend. Steve smiled broadly as Peter ran ahead and squeezed through a group of men and woman twice his age and only half as interested to get a better view of the first text panel. Tony couldn’t help but smile back at Steve. He got it. Although he only had a fleeting interest in genetics himself—that was more Bruce’s thing—it was amazing to see Peter so into it.

As they wandered closer, Steve leaned in towards Tony so that their shoulders bumped. “Tony?”

 “Hmm?”

“What do you think about signing Peter up for the Junior Explorers program here?”

Tony frowned and looked up at his mate. “The what?”

Steve grinned at his confusion. “The Junior Explorers program run by the museum. They have a day once a month where young teens can come in and get a short lecture and a behind-the-scenes tour of some of the exhibits. It’s a little expensive, well, it would be for the average person, but I can tell he really enjoys learning about these things.”

“How did you even--?” Tony glanced around. No, there were no banners or signs up about it. “Did I miss a brochure or something?”

“I looked this museum up on the internet this morning after you told me Peter wanted to come and they were advertising for the program on their homepage.”

Steve looked awfully proud of himself but Tony was impressed. “Well. Sure, yeah. Sign him up for whatever. But you’ve just earned yourself a nice steak for dinner.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to look surprised as Tony linked their arms together. “What?”

“I was going to take us to Burger King after this but because of your amazing progress I’ll get us a table at the steakhouse downtown instead.”

“Are you trying to bribe me with food?”

“Of course not. I’m rewarding you. That’s how you train dogs, right? Reward them with a treat when they get a trick right.”

Steve’s smile turned drier than the Mojave desert and he leaned closer to place a kiss against Tony’s forehead. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Tony knew it. So he smiled back and let Steve pull away to walk over to where Peter was already on the third text panel. But he liked Steve’s idea about the Junior Explorers program, whatever that was. Obviously he was going to have to do a bit of research of his own but the extra-curricular activity would be good for the kid. Peter didn’t want to sign up for sports because he was afraid that the other kids would find out he was a Shifter if he was too fast or too strong. He hadn’t shown much interest in music either and any of the art classes Tony had found for kids Peter's age had looked a little too child-friendly if that made sense. Peter was mature for his age and Tony knew from experience that he wouldn’t care much to be talked to like a grade-schooler, despite the fact that he was one, as someone tried to teach him some rudimentary skill that he had mastered years ago. Steve still thought it was a good idea but Tony understood where Peter was coming from a bit better. After all, he had started going to MIT when he was just fifteen years old. When he was Peter’s age, he was already cruising through Junior High.

But those were thoughts for another day. Today, Tony was just going to enjoy today.

O~O~O~O

Weeks pass quietly by. Steve and the rest of the pack go out on more missions but they always come back in one piece and Tony is always grateful though he occasionally forgets to show it. There’s a few dozen meetings, three telecommunication conferences with overseas investors, and one parent-teacher conference that became very awkward very quickly when peter's teacher wouldn’t stop fangirling over the fact that she was meeting Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in person. Tony usually wouldn’t have minded but they were there to talk about Peter and being fawned over by a sixty year old woman wasn’t all that appealing.

Now he was back to his usual routine, stuck in the office, sitting at his desk, and scanning Ebay for new parts for his vintage coupe while trying to ignore Pepper. Unfortunately she was making it very difficult by walking over and slapping a stack of papers on his keyboard. Who used paper anymore? Wasn’t that what they invented the internet for?

Pepper pursed her lips and rested a hand on her hip. “The annual fundraiser for the Shifter foundation is coming up in three months.”

Tony leaned back in his chair and heaved a breath. “Three months? That’s like a quarter of a year from now. Why are you even bothering to tell me about it?”

She wasn’t moved by his exaggerated sigh. “Because there are some details that need to be worked out in advance.”

“Can’t you just do it?”

“I thought you might want to be a part of the planning, being that it is your fundraiser and all.”

She might have a point. “Fine.” Swinging around in his ergonomic, leather bound chair he abandoned all hope at finding a replacement carburetor and turned to face his window and its view of the city instead. “Email them to me in a list in order of priority since I’ll probably only get the first four or five before I lose interest.”

“I already have a list and I’ll send it to you but try to get through at least fifteen of the points.”

“Eight.”

“Ten,” Pepper raised a brow as she came around to block his view out the window, “or I’m making you do everything.”

Tony narrowed his eyes and studied her face. Damn it. She was serious. “You’re very good at negotiation.”

Pepper bit her lip to try and keep her smile hidden. “I’ve learned.”

And apparently Tony had taught her too well. He put on his best condescending CEO face even though he knew Pepper would be the last person to buy it. “Is there anything else, Ms. Potts? Because I’m a very busy man and I have some very important work-like tasks to get back to.”

Nope. She didn’t buy it. In fact, she pulled the same face better than him. The student had become the master. “That’s good. Because if you were planning on spending the rest of the afternoon surfing the internet looking at vintage car parts I would probably get upset.”

“Good to know.”

“And there’s only one more thing. A package came for you.”

At that point Tony realized that there was indeed a brown box leaning up against his desk. “When did that get there?”

“About five minutes ago, when I brought it in with the papers you need to look at.”

“Right. And I should care about it why?”

“Because it came from Dr. Franklin Hall.”

Tony swung his chair back around to face his desk. Dr. Hall was a world-renowned researcher in physics who Tony had failed to lure to his company. They had met several times during industry conferences but hadn’t had much personal interaction. Certainly nothing that would warrant Hall sending him a package to his office like this. Which made him curious. “Fine. Lemme see it.”

Pepper picked the box up and handed it to him with a small, knowing smile that finally slipped free onto her lips. He just smirked right back as she lingered beside his desk, waiting for him to open it. It seemed like he wasn’t the only curious one. “Don’t _you_ have work to do?”

“I’m on my break.”

“Who says you get a break?”

“Federal and State labor laws.”

“Details.”

Setting the box on top of his desk in front of his keyboard, Tony tore through its brown paper wrapping and inspected the cardboard underneath. No clues there. It was medium sized, not nearly big enough to hold any high tech equipment—even a small device would have had more packaging material around it. Maybe a book then, but Hall hadn’t published anything other than academic journal articles in a few years. It was pretty heavy for its size too. Heavier than a book even.

After checking to make sure the door to his office was closed so that no employees could peek inside, Tony leaned in and sniffed the box. Once again he wished he had Steve or Bruce’s nose but, no, Tony was able to pick up something. Something he wasn’t expecting. A metallic, chemical odor, one he had worked with before in his workshop, but only very cautiously. Then, as he drew close, a light _tick, tick, tick_.

Then the ticking stopped and a cold fear gripped Tony’s chest.

With inhuman speed, Tony threw the box as hard as he could to the far side of the room then sprang from his chair and dove on top of Pepper. She shouted in surprise, the cry morphing into a scream as the bomb hit the floor and detonated on impact.

Using his body to shield Pepper from the blast, Tony hissed as he felt a pulse of heat rush over his back and heard the wall of windows in his office shatter. If he had been human the impact from the explosion would have knocked him right off of Pepper and given him a few broken limbs and second-degree burns in the process. But he was a Cat and before the blast even hit him he had braced himself, dug his fingers into the carpet, and twisted his body up to protect his most vital areas, as well as Pepper beneath him.

The explosion was violent but quick and in the span of a heartbeat it was over, leaving a yawning silence in its wake. Pepper had stopped screaming but was shaking underneath him and Tony pushed himself up to check her over. She seemed alright—scared, but unhurt—and Tony let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding. If Pepper had gotten injured he didn’t know what he would’ve done. Then her eyes flashed open and he realized he wasn’t the only one who thought that way. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and grabbed onto Tony with shaking hands. “Oh my god, Tony! Are you alright? Oh my god, look at your jacket!”

“It’s fine. I’m fine. We’re both fine.”

Tony didn’t know if he was trying to convince himself or Pepper but it didn’t seem to be doing much to calm her down. She pushed on his arms until he rolled all the way off of her and had him turn around so that she could examine the back of his ruined suit and search for any signs of damage underneath.

That was how security found them as they raced in a moment later.

They didn’t know he wasn’t human and insisted that Tony be taken to the hospital immediately. When Tony finally stood up he understood why and why they looked so horrified. His office had been absolutely decimated. The area within five feet of where the bomb had gone off had just disappeared, dissolved into bits of debris so fine that they were still settling out of the dusty air. His desk had been knocked back at least eight feet and his desktop computer had been blown clear off and was hanging from the edge of the desk by its wires. There were glass and plaster bits everywhere and by all accounts they should have been torn apart too. Or at least be in critical condition. So Tony shot Pepper a look then turned back to the security guards with a pained grimace and agreed, telling them to call 911. But that he had to make a call of his own before the paramedics arrived.

Pepper dutifully distracted one guard as another hurried back into the hall to call an ambulance, giving Tony some small amount of privacy as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket—thank god it was still working—with trembling fingers and searched through his contacts. There. There it was.

Dialing, Tony pulled the phone to his face and tried to hold it there. Now that the sudden burst of adrenaline was seeping away the shaking in his fingers spread. For shit’s sake. He was an alpha. Pull it together, pull it together. Pepper was fine.

“ _Agent Phil Coulson speaking._ ”

“It’s Stark.” He was proud of himself. Everything else was shaking but his voice was steady. “We have a situation.”

“ _What do you need me to do?”_

Nothing threw this man off balance. Tony could see why Steve liked him so much. “There was a bomb, the paramedics are coming, and I need to be injured.”

“ _I’ll see what I can do._ _I’ll have an agent waiting for you at the hospital_.”

And that was that. Tony hung up just in time to be rushed again by his security personnel, telling him to lay back down, please Mr. Stark, just lay down. The ambulance would be there in two minutes. Just relax, everything is going to be alright.

O~O~O~O

“Mr. Stark. My name is Dr. Simmons and I’ve been assigned as your physician.”

Tony narrowed his eyes and studied the perky young brunette with an English accent who had just walked into his hospital room. She had the right sort of clothes and lab coat on but there was something not quite right about the way she held herself…“You’re not a real doctor.”

Her smile faltered a bit before solidifying with some sort of inner conviction. “I am, just perhaps not a medical doctor but you didn’t exactly give us much warning. Biology _is_ my area of expertise though. Now, let’s see what we can do about these vital stats that the EMTs sent in from your ride over in the ambulance. Hmm…your blood pressure does seem to be abnormally high, even someone with your condition. Have you been suffering from an unusual amount of stress recently?”

“Well, a bomb did just go off in my office.”

“Right. I suppose that is a natural response.” Yeah. Not a medical doctor. “Are you feeling any amount of pain?”

His chest hurt a bit and he was still a little short of breath, but that could easily be contributable to the impact from the blast. It was hardly anything worth mentioning. “No, I’m pretty good actually.”

“Excellent. In that case, I’ll go fetch some bandages and we can get to work patching you up.”

“What?” He was pretty sure he had just said he was fine.

“Well we can hardly let you leave looking like you do now. Any _man_ caught in an explosion like that would be likely to have some serious burns and possibly some skeletal damage. I’ve already taken the liberty of ordering a sling for your arm for the fractured ulna you sustained, some plaster for the cuts on your face and hands, and proper bandages for the first and second degree burns on your legs and back.”

Huh. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to discount her. “Fantastic.”

Dr. Simmons lacked some bedside manner but she was efficient and had Tony’s imaginary injuries all wrapped up within half an hour. A few nurses came in to assist and Tony had to intervene as she stumbled her way through an explanation of why they had never seen her on the day shift before. And once she was done Tony wasn’t left alone for long.

Less than ten more minutes passed before there was a knock on the door and Tony looked back over his shoulder as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Agent Coulson was standing in the doorway looking as unflappable as ever, as if this was just a social visit. Tony wasn’t surprised to see the man; he had called the SHIELD agent for help after all. Tony also knew that the man probably already had the entire situation wrapped up in a neat little package. God, he didn’t want to think of wrapped packages right now.

“How’s Pepper?”

Coulson closed the door behind them and smiled gently. “A doctor looked her over and gave her a clean bill of health, undoubtedly due to your quick action.”

Tony ignored the praise; it was the least he could have done. If he had been more on his game he would have been able to realize what was going on before that and been able to get them both out of the room entirely. “A real doctor checked her, right? Not that quack you sent over from SHIELD?”

“Dr. Simmons is one of our brightest researchers, she just doesn’t get out of the lab very often.”

“Oh, good, that makes me feel a lot better.”

“But to answer your question, Ms. Potts was examined by a resident doctor from this hospital. Since she is human we saw no problem with allowing it.”     

It was hard to pull his jacket on with all the bandages on and eventually Tony just gave up and pulled the suit top over his shoulders like a cape. It would do until he got into the car.          

“The police are getting involved."

Tony’s gaze snapped up. "How about no?"

Coulson tilted his head and gave a small shrug. "It's been difficult to dissuade them. Are far they're concerned SHIELD has no jurisdiction over the case since, you know, no Shifters were involved."

Tony’s brow pinched in confusion and his mouth opened to immediately correct the man but, no, Coulson was right. As far as the world knew it was a human crime against a human. Damn it. The police were harder to negotiate with than SHIELD was. There was too much an investigation could dredge up and make public. "I don't want them poking around."

"I'm afraid we don't really have a choice. But we'll do what we can to control their access to any information that might be too revealing."

"Great..."

“Do you want me to call Steve to come pick you up?”

No way was Tony letting Steve see him with all these bandages on. “No way in hell. Call Pepper and have her bring the company car around to pick me up.”

Coulson did just that.

The real hospital staff wouldn’t let Tony leave unless he agreed to be rolled out in wheelchair so he grudgingly let them sit him down and a nurse wheeled him to where Pepper was waiting for him in the waiting room of emergency care. As soon as the nurses stopped monitoring him, Tony hopped up out of the chair just to have Pepper grab onto him and start fussing. She looked okay. There was a Band-Aid on her forehead where she had gotten a small cut and her hair had been half pulled out of the bun she had been wearing, but she looked okay.

“Tony! How are you feeling?”

Her hand on his shoulder grounded him and made the whole thing feel a little less like some weird dream. “Did they do a good job with you? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m shockingly intact, according to the doctor. Just some minor superficial bruising and cuts. But what about you? Look at you!”

“I’m fine. I just want to get home and forget this whole thing happened. Is it clear outside?” He peered around her through the clear glass doors and thought he saw too much movement outside.

“If by ‘clear’ you mean a swarm of reporters then ‘yes’.”

Damn it. “How did they get here so quickly?”

“The explosion was pretty noticeable and from what I was able to find out the ambulance driver leaked which hospital you were being taken to.”

And it had been about an hour since he had been brought in. Plenty of time for the paparazzi to swarm if they knew where he was. “Any chance of getting rid of them?”

 “At this point it would be easier just to go through them.”

 “I was afraid you were going to say that.” For a moment he wondered if he could get the hospital to kick the press off the property by saying that their presence was threatening his health but decided that would take too long. All he wanted to do was get home.

She sighed then entwined her arm and the arm Tony still had that wasn’t in a sling. “Come on, let’s get this over with. Happy is already waiting; it will be a short walk.”

Tony snorted in disbelief but steeled himself and walked through the sliding doors.

Instantly he was a hit by a wave of flashbulbs and camera lenses and his grip tightened on Pepper’s arm.

“Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark, any comments about what happened in Stark Tower?”

Tony winced against another flash and growled. “I think it’s pretty obvious what happened—“

Before he could finish, Pepper had started to speak over him and moved her body slightly so that she was blocking him from the main brunt of the cameras. “For everyone’s safety we will not be making any comments about the incident earlier this afternoon. The City Police have gotten involved and I’m sure they will be able to answer any questions you have.”

The questions continued but Tony and Pepper both ignored them as their car came into view. Tony could see Happy sitting in the driver’s seat, the man’s face drawn up into a serious frown.

 “Mr. Stark, is it true that you were there when the bomb went off? How did you survive the blast?”

Pepper threw her hand out in a classic ‘stop’ gesture, her expression fierce. “Excuse me, Tony is understandably tired and needs to get some rest.”

Tony couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. It didn’t hurt that by that point they had reached the car. Pulling open the door as fast as he could, Tony slipped into the back, slamming the car door shut behind him as Pepper walked around the back to slide in from the other side. The noise from the reporters silenced thanks to the thick windows on Tony’s car and Tony turned to look at Pepper. “You are very attractive when you’re angry. Have I ever told you that?”

“Once or twice. Let’s get Tony home, Happy.”

The man nodded from the front seat and punched the gas, peeling away from the curb with probably more speed than was legal. As soon as he was out of sight of the cameras, Tony spun around, yanked his jacket off, and began to pick at his bandages. “Pepper, help me get these off.”

Her eyes widened. “What, your bandages? Tony, I don’t think—“

“They’re all just for show. Come on. I don’t want to even imagine Steve’s face if he saw me like this.”

Pepper nodded then her eyebrows furrowed as she reached forward to grab onto a piece of plaster that Dr. Simmons had slapped onto his brow to hide a pretend gash. “This is probably going to hurt.”

“Just, tear it off.” It hadn’t had that much time to set. “On the count of three: one, tw—ahh!” Tony flinched as she ripped it off, his skin burning where the plaster had stuck to it. “Shit! Pepper!”

“Sorry! Sorry. But it’s off.”

“How does it look?”

“Red. And I think I might have torn off a bit of your eyebrow.”

“Perfect.”

Undressing the rest of his wounds went smoother and by the time they pulled into the drive of Stark Manor he and Pepper had gotten him back into a presentable state. His suit jacket hadn’t been salvageable so he just balled it up and stuck it under his arm. Hopefully Steve wouldn’t notice the tears in his pants.

Pepper leaned out of the car as Tony stepped out and straightened his shirt. “Call me if you need me, Tony!”

“Will you come in and help me lie about what happened today?”

She made a face. “Lie to Steve? No.”

“Then you’re useless for the next few hours.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

He didn’t want to go back to work tomorrow. Shouldn’t he be allowed a sick day? Or an ‘I almost got blown up’ day? He had some vacation days stored up. But that would be admitting defeat and there was no way he was going to give the bomber that sort of satisfaction. “I want donuts and coffee waiting for me when I get there.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He knew there were going to be donuts and coffee waiting for him tomorrow morning and it made him feel a little better. He waved good-bye to both Happy and Pepper as Happy turned the car around to take Pepper home herself. Which left Tony to walk up to his house by himself.

Tony paused on the front step of his home and stared blankly at the door, wondering if there was any way he could wiggle his way out of this one. For once, _he_ hadn’t actually done anything wrong but something had still exploded so he knew the rest of them weren’t going to be happy. One certain alpha Wolf in particular.

“ _Sir, do you require help opening the front door or are you simply lost in thought?_ ”

Good ol’ JARVIS. His smooth voice echoed down from the small speakers Tony had installed on the porch, ruining his mental monologue. “I’ve got some news to share Steve won’t be thrilled with.”

“ _I did note several articles online about the bombing in your office. Is that the news you were referring to?”_

Tony winced. Great, it had already hit the internet. “Yeah, that’s it. Do you think he’d be sufficiently distracted if I ordered some nice steaks for dinner?”

“ _I suggest the best course of action would be to inform Master Rogers of the incident directly._ ”

“Noted but not happening.”

He was pretty sure he heard JARVIS sigh in exasperation but it might have just been his imagination. “ _Very well, Sir. Can I interest you in at least coming inside the house? I believe Agent Barton has just noticed your presence._ ”

“Damn it. Sure.”

As the doors automatically swung open to allow Tony to step inside, he saw that JARVIS was right. He was being watched. Clint was perched on top of the stair railing, crouching down on a metal hand-rest that should have been much too small for a man his size to stand on. There was a smirk on his face but the small pinch between the Hawk’s brows was enough to let Tony know that Clint had already heard the news as well. “Have trouble with the door?”

“Nope. Have a problem with keeping your feet on the ground?”

“You know I do.” In one fluid movement he stood up and jumped off of the banister to land on the tiled floor. “We’ve been wondering when you were going to come home.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” If there was a chance that Steve already knew about the whole bomb thing it would save Tony some trouble. Almost as soon as the thought passed through Tony’s mind he dismissed it. If Steve had heard about it already, his phone would have been lit up with phone call after phone call and the Wolf would have tackled him to the floor as soon as he stepped into the house.

Part of Tony’s question was answered as he walked into the media room and found Natasha sitting casually on the couch. A little too casually. She knew too, but Tony hadn’t expected anything different. If Clint knew something, Natasha definitely did.

The Spider gave him an assessing look as Clint walked over to lean behind her against the back of the couch. "Someone had a busy day."

Tony inwardly winced again but had his neutral, nonchalant expression already pasted on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Natasha stared at him with the most deadpan, unimpressed look Tony had ever seen cross her face. "Are you serious? You didn't tell Steve?"

"Tell me what?"

And he had such a fucked-up life. Tony rolled his eyes before turning to face his mate as Steve walked into the room, undoubtedly summoned by Tony’s arrival. He was wearing a tight white cotton shirt and track pants, the scent of drying sweat lingering on his skin. He smelled delicious but the guarded look in his blue eyes told Tony he was going to have to wait.

So instead Tony shot a glare at Natasha but the redhead only shrugged. "He was going to find out eventually."

"Not necessarily."

Clint shook his head. "He reads the newspaper and it's sure to be on the front page tomorrow morning."

There was a deep frown on Steve’s face now and Tony could tell he was starting to get angry as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Someone tell me what's going on."

Bruce chose that moment to hurry into the room, the beta’s breath catching in his throat when he caught sight of Tony. "Tony, are you alright? I just heard about what happened on the radio."

Tony furrowed his brow. “What? Who listens to the _radio_ anymore--?”

"Dad?” Tony was interrupted from his deflection as Peter slunk into the room, his smartphone held out in his hand. “This says a bomb went off in your office. Is that true?"

Steve leveled Tony with a glare that would have melted steel and Tony finally gave in and threw his hands into the air in defeat. He was half expecting Thor to burst in through the wall since he was the only one who hadn’t dropped in yet. "Okay. There may have been a slight incident at work today."

Steve’s jaw tightened and there was a tangible anger rolling off of him through the air in waves. Peter instantly shrunk back, naturally tucking himself behind Bruce while Bruce, Natasha, and Clint tensed. Tony defiantly kept his body at ease but his hackles rose a bit when Steve spoke. It was a command, harsh and demanding. “Come here, we need to talk.”

Leaning his head back, Tony rubbed his hands over his face before straightening back up to meet Steve’s eyes. But he made no move to get up to follow Steve out of the room. “I’d really rather not do this right now, if it’s all the same to you.”

“We’re doing this now. Can the rest of you leave the room for a minute please?” The ‘please’ seemed like an afterthought and no one made any sort of protest as they stood and ducked out of the room. “Bruce, close the door.”

Tony scowled as the beta Wolf nodded and dutifully closed the door to the media room as they all escaped. Now it was just him and Steve but Tony wasn’t worried. He could tell by the way Steve was looking at him that he wasn’t mad at Tony so much as the fact that the bomb had happened in the first place. Although he did seem a little pissed at Tony too. Less so though.

Moving across the room, Tony sat down in the spot Natasha had just vacated on the couch. "Relax, Steve. Whoever this is, they're after Tony Stark the billionaire, not Tony Stark the Shifter."

Steve growled and stalked over to stand in front of him. "How is that supposed to make me relax?"

"Because it means that it's no one really close to me this time.” Tony’s thoughts drifted instantly to Obadiah Stane. But, no, the bastard had been dead for over two decades. Shaking his head to rid his brain of those thoughts, Tony managed to dredge up a smirk. “And it means they'll do a really shitty job because they think they're trying to kill a human."

 “Tony, you’re not invincible.”

“You don’t know that.”

Steve swallowed and suddenly all of his anger seemed to fall away and then Tony could smell it. Fear. It was sharp and pungent and clinging close to Steve as he knelt down in front of the couch so that they were abruptly eye-to-eye. “Tony, please. You’re not.” Steve shook his head then reached a hand over and pressed through Tony’s shirt against the wide scar in the center of his chest. “You’re not. No one is.”

Tony snarled and shoved Steve’s hand away but Steve wasn’t giving up. Surging forward, Steve braced his hands on the back of the couch on either side of Tony’s head and used his bulk to keep Tony from wiggling free. Tony glared up at the Wolf and hissed. “What do you want me to say?”

“That you’ll be careful.”

“Obviously. I’m not stupid.”

Steve made a small, hurt noise in the back of his throat. “I know you’re not. I just need you to be careful. Someone tried to _kill_ you, Tony. Whether or not it actually worked doesn’t change that.”

“Hey.” This close Tony was overwhelmed by the fear and anxiety coming off of his mate and gave in to the need to comfort him. He couldn’t let Steve be this concerned. Not for him. He would say whatever he had to. “Listen, you’re way too worried about this so let me assure you that this is just a small bump in the road. Think of it as an initiation that every fabulously wealthy celebrity entrepreneur has to go through. I’m not the first to receive some mysterious package and I won’t be the last. This isn’t something that I need you flying in to rescue me from. The city police are already on the case and they’ll be able to trace the package and identify the bastard who sent it.”   

Steve shook his head and leaned in to press their foreheads together. “Tony, I can’t…I can’t do this again. Pretend like it’s not a big deal. I’m going to cancel my next few missions and stay here for a while.”

“What? Why?”

“Because a bomb was sent to your office!”

“And you being here didn’t change that, did it?” Steve pulled away and growled, but he couldn’t change the fact that Tony had just told the truth. They both knew it. But Tony might have been a little rough with his words. Huffing out a breath, Tony leaned back against the couch. “Look, I get what you’re trying to do, but I can watch my own back and you have a job to do that doesn’t involve babysitting me.”

“Tony—“

“Hey.” Reaching up, Tony flicked Steve’s nose to stop his protest. “Remember who you’re dealing with here.”

Grabbing the hand that flicked him in one of his own, Steve pulled the offending fingers to his lips and pressed a long kiss against the pads of his fingertips. “That’s the problem. I can’t look past the fact that it’s you. I…can’t stand the idea of you being here to deal with this while I’m hundreds of miles away.”

Tony watched Steve for a long moment then sighed and combed the fingers on his free hand through Steve’s hair. His mate seemed to appreciate the touch and leaned into it, his blue eyes closing as Tony softly gave his response. “Welcome to every day of my life for the past six years, Steve. You’re just going to have to do what I do: suck it up, deal with it, and trust that I know what the hell I’m doing.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, chapter 5 is up! Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter!! This is my early Valentine’s gift to all of you fine readers. I was considering on holding off until Friday but decided there’d be more love in it if I didn’t keep you waiting. ;)

It was safe to say that Tony didn’t get any sleep that night but this time when they went to bed he was content to simply lie next to Steve as the Wolf drifted off. Even Steve didn’t sleep well and tossed and turned all night. Maybe that was what kept Tony entertained, or maybe it was because he was able to notice new details about Steve that he hadn’t taken the time to see before. The small scatter of freckles on the bridge of his nose from all the time he had been spending outside or the slope of his shoulder as he rolled over onto his side.

The hours slowly ticked away. To keep from feeling like a complete creeper, Tony let his eyes rest for most of it, his brain whirring away behind his eyelids. Diagrams, schematics, programming code rushed through his mind and he hoped he remembered half of it in the morning.

In his semi-conscious state he dreamed of Steve.

He dreamed of Peter and Bruce. Of Loki and Thor, Pepper and Natasha, Clint and Coulson.

He dreamed of explosions and fire. Of hard, cold floors. Of the taste of blood.

Tony’s eyes snapped open and he sucked in a breath of air. A soft, pale light was starting to slip in through a crack in his blackout curtains. Going back through his memories from the night before he swore and slammed his head back against his pillows. The nightmares were standard but the only innovation he was able to conjure back into his brain was a short line of code that would help him reprogram a bug he had been trying to fix in a new networking system he was building.

But the rest would come back to him eventually. He had thought it up once, he would do it again.

But not right now. At some point during the night Steve had curled himself around Tony, his ridiculously broad chest pressed up against Tony’s side and an arm flung over Tony’s waist.  It was so… _domestic_ that Tony couldn’t help but mess it up.

Reaching forward, Tony ran his fingers down his mate’s jawline before gripping his chin and pressing his lips to the tip of Steve’s nose. Tony smiled as Steve’s nose wrinkled up at the touch but he didn’t wake up. Pressing another kiss against his mate’s cheek, Tony rolled on top of him and slotted his legs in between Steve’s, a mess of blankets keeping him from the skin to skin contact he really wanted.

Steve grunted at the added weight and cracked an eye open. “Good morning.”

Tony grinned down at him. “I hope so.”

Steve smiled back and tilted his head back to accept another kiss, this time on the lips. Steve’s hand crept down Tony’s back to rest on his hip underneath the sheets. “…How are you feeling?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Right now I’m feeling kind of horny.”

Steve blinked a few times, as if he could barely comprehend what Tony had said after just waking up. But then a small, coy smile lit up his face and he tilted his head back again to brush his nose against Tony’s cheekbone. “I can tell. You weren’t very subtle about it.”

Tony couldn’t help but nuzzle Steve back. His instincts were coming to the forefront and all he wanted to do was rub himself all over his mate. “Who said I was trying to be subtle?”

Steve smiled again and captured Tony’s lips in another kiss, deeper this time. Tony smirked as he felt Steve’s tongue brush up against his then grunted happily as Steve’s hand tightened up his hip and began to pull his waist down.  Feeling Steve begin to roll his hips up to meet him, Tony huffed out a breath and pressed his forehead against Steve’s shoulder. “Are we really going to dry hump each other like teenagers?”

“Is it working?” Steve sounded far too smug, but there wasn’t any reason for him not to be. He could feel that it was working.

Tony grunted and tilted his head up to bury his nose against Steve’s neck. God, he smelled good. “Not if you don’t speed things up a bit.”

Steve’s smile twisted up at the corner and that was Tony’s only warning before the Wolf flipped them both over. There were still some blankets in between them but that didn’t stop Steve from leaning over him and rutting their hips together. The breath had rushed out of Tony’s lungs when Steve had jumped on him and he hadn’t been able to get it back since. Hissing, he reached down and raked his fingers down Steve’s back, leaving pink lines down his pale skin. It was half about having something to cling on to, half to stake his dominance over his mate as he panted above him. He could hear and feel Steve scenting him just as Tony had been doing to him earlier and a shot of endorphins ran straight down his spine as he heard a strangled growl roll up Steve’s throat.

It took a lot less time than it should before Tony felt his climax rushing up on him and his nails dug hard into Steve’s shoulders as he came. Steve let out choked whimper as the scent of Tony’s release washed over him and came a heartbeat later.  Tony felt a warm, damp patch beginning to seep in between them but was far more aware of Steve’s comforting weight on top of him and the smell of the fine layer of sweat that had started to build up on his skin. 

After a long moment of just breathing, Steve tilted his head and nipped at Tony’s ear. “So…Good morning again.”

“Yeah.” Tony chuckled and licked Steve’s chin, just to catch a bit of sweat that was about to roll off. “Remind me why we don’t do that every morning?”

Steve raised a brow as he rested his weight on his elbows on either side of Tony’s body. “…Because you’re usually not here when I wake up?”

“That’s true.” He couldn’t argue.

Steve made a small noise in the back of his throat—almost a laugh. “Maybe this will make you think twice tomorrow morning. I like waking up with you in my arms.”

“Wow, Steve. You know I can’t take you seriously when you’re that sappy.”

Steve definitely did laugh this time. “I know. And I forgive you.” Tony opened his mouth to protest but Steve successfully silenced him by licking his way into Tony’s mouth. When had managed to steal what breath Tony had managed to regain, Steve pulled away just enough to speak. “I guess we should head downstairs…See who else is awake.”

“Mn, in a minute…” Steve shook his head but let Tony pull his head in to share another series of long, slow kisses that were almost enough to get Tony going again. But he was definitely not in his twenties anymore and his recovery period was a little longer than five minutes most days. After a bit though, that wet spot between them began to grow more noticeable and more uncomfortable. Eventually the gross sensation started to outweigh the lingering hum in his blood from his climax and Tony was ready to clean up. “Okay.” He snuck one more kiss in before pushing Steve up and away. “Okay, let’s get up.”

Steve grinned but let Tony manhandle him off of him. He lifted his head and scented the air as Tony clamored to the edge of the bed. “I think someone’s cooking. Do you want to go down and see what’s for breakfast?”

“I want a shower first. You should join me.”

Steve blinked, his eyes trained on Tony as he climbed off of the bed and stretched. “I don’t know…”

Glancing back, Tony grinned as he caught the Wolf’s stare. “Relax. I’m not asking for sex, although we can do that too if you want. But there’s cum on your stomach and your back is bleeding. You need to clean up or Peter will ask questions no one wants to answer yet. Or worse, someone _will_ answer.”

Steve tilted his head then twisted around to try and get a glimpse at his back were Tony had dug his nails in a bit too deep. The Wolf probably hadn’t even felt anything. “Oh! I guess I _should_ clean up a bit…” A small blush dusted his cheeks which was pretty adorable considering what they had just been up to. “But no funny business.”

“We’ll see.”

They didn’t manage to keep their hands to themselves but they stopped at light touches and managed to make it downstairs within the hour despite Tony’s attempts to sabotage the plan. When they did get down to the first floor, Tony was disappointed that he hadn’t tried a little harder. He definitely needed more time to wake up before being bombarded with a loud ‘good morning!’ by a very enthusiastic Lion.

Thor was standing in front of the stove surrounded by a small war zone of spilled flour and cracked eggs. There was a blinding smile on his face as he spun around to face Tony and Steve as they stepped inside. “I have made breakfast!”

Steve winced at the mess but returned Thor’s greeting with a nod. “Clearly. It smells good.” It didn’t look so good but it did smell edible. Tony didn’t want to be a stereotyping asshole but a voice whispered in the back of his head that this was what happened when you had three alphas, two betas, three neutrals, and no omegas in a house.

Peter was already sitting at the table along with Bruce and Clint. Tony wandered over to sit with them but Thor followed him over. Bruce tried to hide his grin as the Lion rested his weight on the back of Tony’s chair so suddenly that he almost toppled over. “Tony! I have heard that you had a trying day yesterday. I am immensely pleased to see that you appear well enough this morning!”

“Yeah, me too, big guy.”

A quick glance around the table showed Tony that even though Thor had said so the one who looked the happiest to see him was Peter. And it sort of melted Tony’s heart to see that. Steve caught the exchange and squeezed Tony’s shoulders as he walked up and claimed his seat at the head of the table. “Well, thank you for making breakfast, Thor. I’m sure it will be swell.”

Thor beamed again and released the back of Tony’s chair in order to charge back into the kitchen area. “I shall serve it immediately! Ah, wait!” Tony heard the Lion hustle to the door and then everyone at the table jumped in their seats as he leaned out of the doorway and yelled—no, _roared_ —into the rest of the house. “ _Loki! Natasha! I have finished my preparations of breakfast! Gather around the table to partake_!”

“For shi--!” Spinning around in his seat, Tony gestured pointedly up to a speaker mounted in the ceiling. “We have an intercom, Thor! You don’t have to yell.”

If Thor was annoyed by the rebuke he didn’t show it, instead continuing to smile as he pulled eggs, sausage, and something that looked like they were either supposed to be muffins or scones onto large plates. “It is quicker my way.”

“Uh, I disagree.” That was the beauty of a wireless intercom, it was instantaneous.

Before Thor could answer back Steve rolled his eyes and nudged Tony’s leg under the table with his foot. “Stop. Enjoy breakfast.”

“Bossy.”

But Tony did stop, mostly because Loki started his own griping as soon as he and Natasha appeared. But not even Loki was able to cow his mate and Thor continued on as blissfully unaware as ever of how ridiculous he was. Breakfast went on like that. Despite grudgingly appreciating Loki’s complaints towards Thor, Tony ignored the Raven and focused on his food which wasn’t half bad. Little conversations popped up around the table and everyone made an obvious point to not mention anything about bombs or Tony’s office. By the end of it Clint and Natasha had successfully ganged up on Steve and convinced him to go out back and spar with them in the gym. Something Tony had said to Bruce had sparked some sort of inspiration in him because he would up out of his seat like a shot as soon as it was socially acceptable. Tony wasn’t surprised when Loki seemed to melt back into whatever shadows he hid in and that left him, Peter, and Thor lingering at the table.

When Tony made it very clear that he wasn’t going to offer to help clean anything up, Thor heaved a sigh but gathered all the dishes up and walked over to dump them back in the sink. Tony didn’t care that he was being immature. Thor got to clean up his own messes.

“Hey, Dad?”

Peter’s voice instantly brought Tony’s gaze back to his son. “What’s up?”

Peter frowned and fidgeted a bit in his seat. He looked—and smelled—uneasy and it put Tony on guard. “How…how are you able to hide your scent?”

The question caught Tony unprepared. He heard Thor’s movements pause over in the kitchen before resuming with an obvious attempt to make some noise to offer them some privacy. Tony scoffed back at him before slowly returning his attention to Peter. He turned his son’s question over in his head a couple of times, trying to figure out what motive he had for asking it and if that should make a difference as to how he answered. “…It’s not an easy thing for me to do. Or, it wasn’t an easy thing to learn how to do. It’s second nature now. It started as an instinctual response to fear. Cat’s…sometimes when we become really afraid our scents shut off as a way to help us hide from whatever is coming after us. I just learned how to keep that going after the fear stopped.”

Frowning, Peter tilted his head to the side. “Can other types of Shifters do it?”

“Not that I know of. And I don’t know how many Cats it happens to either. It’s not something we really talk about.”

Peter’s frown deepened and he looked over at the only other Cat he knew. “Has it happened to you, Thor?”

No longer able to pretend that he wasn’t listening in on their talk, Thor set the pan he was washing down in the sink. The alpha’s voice had quieted to something almost thoughtful. “I have never felt the need to do so, but I have heard stories of my brethren losing control of themselves, allowing their courage to fail them upon the field of battle, and being able to disappear into the hills without leaving a scent trail.”

Tony sneered back at the Lion. “Thanks for that.” He was so glad to hear that Thor associated him with cowards and traitors. But that wasn’t the point of all this. The point was that _Peter_ had asked about it. So he spun back around in his chair to meet his son’s eyes. “Why all the questions?”

“I just, wanted to know if it was something Wolves could do.”

Ah. So that was it. “Did you want to know if _you_ could do it?”

Peter broke their eye contact, his gaze skittering off to somewhere on the other side of the room. “Maybe…”

“Listen, Pete,” Tony sighed, trying to come up with the right words, “you shouldn’t be worrying about that. Believe me when I say it’s not a talent you’d want to be able to develop even if you were a Cat.” Tony never wanted Peter to go through what he had. Hiding your scent wasn’t a trick that you could just focus hard enough and perform, it was an instinct that was only triggered when a Cat thought they were about to die.  

But Tony could tell it wasn’t the answer Peter had wanted to hear. His face fell and his shoulders drooped. It made him want to back-track and say something different, something more supportive but he knew that in the long run that would do more damage to Peter than this momentary disappointment ever would. “Okay. Um, is it alright if I go out to see Pop, Clint, and Tasha?”

“Sure, buddy.” That Tony could do.

He watched as Peter pushed his chair out, hopped to his feet, and made his way out of the room. Tony lingered at the table and didn’t bother to look up when Thor spoke again, his voice still unusually quiet. “The child is too young to wish to hide himself from his peers.”

Tony let out the sigh he had been holding in and leaned back into his chair. “Yeah. I wonder where that idea even came from?”

Shaking his head, Thor plunged his hands back into the soapy water filling the sink where he had been soaking the pans he had used that morning. “You are one of his most significant mentors in his life and yet you ask such a question…”

Tony narrowed his eyes and glared at the other Cat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I do not mean to comment upon your lifestyle, Tony, but even you must concede that the way you hide yourself may impress upon Peter that it is a proper way for a Shifter to conduct himself.”

Thor’s words hit home like a sledgehammer. But what the hell was he supposed to do? He had changed so much for Peter, for Steve, for all of this but some things were just unnegotiable. Tony pushed his chair out with a loud screech and left the room without a word. He didn’t have an answer for that.

O~O~O~O

Going back to work after what had happened felt weird but Tony was determined that it happen just to show his would-be-killer what a shitty job they did. Not only did they fail to kill Tony but they failed to intimidate him or scare him off. Tony had to relocate his and Pepper’s offices since his normal one still had a giant hole in it and he spent the entire morning reorganizing the equipment his employees had managed to recover into some semblance of a functional space. Despite what a lot of people thought based on the general haphazard appearance of his workstations, Tony was very particular about how things were set up. Everyone who lived with him knew better and Pepper knew better, which is why she let him spend the time to fix everything up just how he wanted. Even if it meant letting him drag his desk around the new room into six different spots after the first five didn’t ‘feel right’.

But once he was comfortable Tony actually sat down and got some good work done. There were literally hundreds of messages for him asking for comments about the bombing but Pepper made it her mission to take care of every single one of them. Tony thought it was cute, almost like it was her way of protecting him after what happened. But he kept his mouth shut because if he told her that, even if he meant it as a compliment, he knew that at best it would only embarrass her. Instead he actually thanked her for doing it and sent her a genuine smile which she seemed to appreciate more than anything else.

With her busy responding to emails and making phone calls in a connecting room, Tony was left to his own devices. And he was impressed with himself that he actually behaved himself for a few hours.  But inevitably his thoughts began to drift. He couldn’t help but thinking of the bombing now that he was back in the office and the more he thought on it the tenser he got.

He needed a vacation. His heat was coming up in a month and a half, maybe it was time to start planning a trip. The whole team couldn’t be pulled away but they could spare Steve and Bruce. Steve for obvious reasons and Bruce so that the beta could keep an eye on Peter while he and Steve had their “private time”. Maybe the Cayman Islands. Or Hawaii. Hawaii sounded nice. They could rent a cozy, private beach-house for a week or two right near the water and take Peter swimming in between their bouts of sex. God, that sounded good.

Tony took a breath to try and calm himself down. His suit was suddenly feeling too warm and he tugged at his tie with an irritated scowl until it came loose enough for him to pop the top two buttons on his shirt. Think unsexy thoughts. Anything. Anything but how Steve would look stretched out on white sheets with warm, humid, tropical air trapping their scents in the room. Or Steve hovering over him, balls deep in Tony as they both gasped for air. God, they’d both be in heat too. There was a chance that they would knot.

 _That_ had been a shock the first time that had happened and Tony had almost sent Steve to the hospital with a very embarrassing injury when during their first heat together as mates Steve’s penis had started to swell right before he came. To say that Tony freaked out…would actually be a fairly accurate way to describe the situation but they had rode it out. Tony wasn’t ignorant and neither was Steve; they both knew that alphas could knot, but after their very first heat together with no knotting they had each assumed that it wasn’t going to happen because there was no beta or omega pheromones to trigger that particular reaction. Turned out it wasn’t a pheromone issue, just an issue of the body recognizing another as its mate.

But, Jesus Christ, Tony had thought he was going to split in half. Alphas were built to knot, not to be knotted and it hurt like a son of a bitch for about half a day afterwards, even with his healing abilities. It had taken another full heat cycle—another _year_ —for both of them to adjust to the change and now…Tony wasn’t ashamed to admit he kind of liked it and he could tell Steve felt the same. To be exact, after his panic had subsided, Steve had been downright ecstatic. It had been all the proof the Wolf needed that the bond they had was real and just as strong as any other Shifter couple’s. And now just the idea of pinning Steve to the mattress and rutting into him and then fill him up with his knot and claim him in every conceivable way nearly had Tony salivating.

“Tony?”

“Tony!”

“Huh?” Tony started at the sound of Pepper’s voice and looked up to find the woman leaning on his desk looking exasperated. “What?”

She sighed and pursed her red lips together. “I’ve been trying to call you for the last five minutes. What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

The answer came too quick and Pepper’s eyes narrowed before they widened in realization. “Oh no, I know that look. Tony, I checked your calendar last night, you still have six weeks before you take your annual trip.”

His ‘annual trip’ was how Pepper preferred innuendo to the two weeks Tony needed to take off every year to avoid bringing Steve into the office and fucking him over his desk. “Calm down, Pep. I’m not going into heat yet.” He didn’t need to be in heat to get distracted by imagining sex with his mate. That was a year-round problem.

She didn’t seem convinced but seemed momentarily content let the matter drop. “Fine. Just remember that we’re not in your normal office and that your employees can see you here.” She gestured over to the right where there was a large window in the door leading out to a well-used hallway. “Now, there’s a detective from the police department on the line and they want to talk to you.”

Oh, well, that was a good reason for an interruption. “Put it through and hold my other calls.”

“Okay.” Pepper rested a comforting hand on his shoulder before slipping away to go back to her temporary office. A second later his office phone rang and he snatched it up.

“ _Mr. Stark?_ ”

 “Speaking.”

“ _This is Detective Andrews. I’m calling about the bombing incident_.”

Tony rolled his chair up and kicked his feet up onto his desk. “Good. I’ve been behaving myself recently so I’d hate to think you’d be calling about anything I did.”

The detective didn’t respond, just plowed straight through with her script. “ _We’re running down some leads but from what we’ve found so far it’s very clear that the bomb did not in fact from Dr. Franklin Hall. According to the post office’s records it came to them through New Jersey. Do you know anyone in New Jersey who may have a grudge against you?_ ”

Tony scoffed. “There’s a lot of people in that state, I’m sure there are a few.” He wasn’t exactly friendly person. Charming, sure, but he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Talk turned serious after that as Tony underwent a thorough questioning. He would have said interrogation but it wasn’t hostile, just no-nonsense. He had to give her credit; it was actually a good approach for the detective to take with him. It kept him on track and he had to wonder if she had been coached before getting on the phone with him. She asked him about every detail about his professional and personal life. Tony played things close to the vest but tried to tell her anything he thought would actually be important. He outright refused to answer about his home life though. That wasn’t her business or the police’s.

Pepper waited for him to hang up before peeking back into his office. “By the look on your face I’m guessing that the call didn’t go well.”

Wiping a hand over his face, Tony took a moment to just let himself settle back out before answering. “Not really, no. They don’t have anything on whoever sent the bomb except they’ve definitively ruled out Dr. Hall. And I could have told them that. Hall would’ve tried to kill me in a much more innovative way than mailing a bomb.” And Tony wasn’t used to this. He had spent too much time with Steve and their pack: he was used to answers and results.

Pepper sighed and frowned, concern written all over her face. “I’m sorry, Tony.”

He instantly waved off her words. “Don’t apologize. You were more likely to get killed by it than I was.”

 “That’s true, but whoever sent the bomb didn’t know that.” 

Pepper stepped all the way inside Tony’s room and made sure to close the door securely behind her before she spoke again. “Is there anyone you can call about this? To help speed things along?”

Tony had just been wondering the same thing but, no. “No one in the right departments. SHIELD has no reason to be involved with the investigation and the only other person I know who’d be willing to do me any favors is Rhodey, but the Air Force would be just as out of place.” It had been a while since he’d spoken with Colonel Rhodes and Tony didn’t want their first call in almost a year to be him asking for help anyway. Rhodey was one of the few people who knew that Tony was a Cat and had been a good friend to Tony for years. He had actually been introduced to the military man through one of his dad’s projects, back when Howard Stark was still alive. Tony was going to have to invite him over after all of this bombing crap was over with. He had a feeling Rhodey would get along really well with Steve.

“Still, maybe I’ll give the Colonel a call and see if he can help.”

“No, I don’t want to bother him with something like this.”

Pepper shook her head and began to pace in front of Tony’s desk. “At the very least I’m going to have Happy help me increase your security personnel.”

God, Tony could see where this was going…“No, don’t do that either.”

Pepper paused her pacing just long enough to send him a disapproving look. “I wasn’t asking for your opinion. I know you too well to let you take total control over your own safety.”

“Such distrust.”

“Such _experience_.”

Tony laughed at the frustration on her face. But she was right, as usual. “What would I do without you, Pepper?”

Some of her annoyance melted away at his laugh. “I don’t even want to imagine.”

“Me neither.”

O~O~O~O

As it turned out Tony shouldn’t have been too quick to leave Pepper in charge of his security. It was like putting Steve in charge of it. She went overboard with hiring a bunch of burly humans, each trained in a ridiculous number of martial arts and each with spotless employment records, to basically surround him wherever he went. It made him feel claustrophobic and antsy, not least of all because even as an alpha Shifter all of the beefy humans around him still had at least four inches on him.

Fortified within his walls of beefy humans, the days crept by at a snail’s pace. It made him question whether the bomber had been successful after all because he had made Tony’s world a lot less pleasant. But then Tony gained a minor victory when, after a weekend and almost two full work weeks had gone by without so much of a whisper of trouble, he convinced Pepper that they could send the bodyguards home. That didn’t mean that security in the rest of the building had relaxed any though so he felt that it was a decent compromise.

With the changes they made, Tony was one hundred percent sure that no suspicious packages or people were ever going to make it inside Stark Towers again. Or at least not without someone knowing about it. He was fairly proud of the facial and bio recognition scanners that they had added to the security systems already in place. They would be able to trace every face, heat signature, hell, every _heartbeat_ , in the building and identify them, storing it all in a database only Tony and Pepper would ultimately have access to. It was revolutionary and the best part was that it completely canceled out the human—or Shifter—error factor. Except the programmer’s, but Tony had programmed it so the coding was perfect.

Tony was practically giddy when he finished up for the day and was able to contemplate walking out of his own building not surrounded by gun-toting men. Pulling on his jacket, he snagged his sun glasses off of his desk then poked his head into Pepper’s office. “I’m taking off for the night. Don’t work too hard while I’m gone.”

She sighed but gave him the sort of smile that said they both knew she’d be there until at least ten o’ clock that night. “Okay. Remember, you have a meeting at nine thirty tomorrow morning so try to get here by nine at the latest.”

“ _Nine_?”  He frowned petulantly and scoffed. “Who scheduled that?”

“I did. It’s good for you.”

Good for him, his ass. “I’ll have you know I’m naturally a nocturnal creature. You’re disrupting my instinctual sleep patterns which I’m sure according to some new age pseudoscience throws off my natural life patterns.” He had just thrown a bunch of bullshitty words together for that last sentence but it almost sounded like an argumentative point.

Pepper’s smile grew. “You wouldn’t want to get up in the morning even if you were actually human.”

“You may be right.” But then he would just think up other excuses.

“I usually am. Now go home. Happy is waiting downstairs to drive you home.”

Pepper must have already called him then, but her words raised another point of contention. “That’s another thing; when do I get to drive myself again? I didn’t buy all my cars just to sit in my garage and not be shown off.”

“As far as the rest of the world is concerned you just survived a bomb blast two weeks ago and still have fractured bones and strained muscles. They don’t need to see you out on the road driving a convertible. Which reminds me, you need to put your sling back on before you step back into the hall. Humans can’t heal their bones in a week.”

Damn it, he was hoping she wouldn’t notice. “I have no idea how you survived as a species…” Tony slipped his sunglasses on then scowled and strapped on his fake arm sling, Pepper only letting him leave once she had inspected it and given it her okay. It itched and pulled awkwardly at his neck and he sort of wanted to set it on fire. But he didn’t because contrary to popular belief he did have some level of impulse control.

A few employees loaded onto the elevator on its way down and every one of them expressed their congratulations for being healthy enough to come back to work and Tony smiled and nodded without really listening. He liked his employees—wouldn’t have hired them if he didn’t—but he missed the private elevator that went up to his old office.

He was the first one out the door when the elevator slid open and burst outside to the front of Stark Towers only to find…absolutely nothing waiting for him. Sighing, Tony whipped his cell phone out and used his unslung hand to hold it up to his ear. It rang once, twice, then he heard Hogan pick up. “Happy—“

“ _On my way, boss. I’m just three blocks away. I had to get the car serviced and it took longer than it should have._ ”

“Alright. I’ll just stand here, carless, in front of my own building.” Knowing that it wasn’t actually Happy’s fault, Tony ended the call to save him from having to apologize again. But Tony hadn’t hired a personal driver to end up waiting out on the curb like a school kid.

Searching for any distraction as he waited, Tony looked up as he heard the sound of a car engine revved to life down the street. It was a dark navy SUV across the street with windows way too tinted to be legal. He wondered for a moment if he should take the time to write their license plate number down but quickly decided that he’d rather the police put more of their energy towards figuring out who bombed him than chasing down a guy with dark windows on his car.

But it turned out he should have written it down.

The SUV pulled sharply off of the curve, almost side-swiping the car in the lane next to it as it pulled out into traffic, and raced down the street toward Stark Towers. Tony narrowed his eyes as the car’s back windows rolled down. What the hell was--? Holy shit, that was a rifle barrel. Two men had appeared in the window, each holding a high-powered assault rifle in their hands and they were pointing them right at him.

They opened fire.

Swearing, Tony flipped himself out of the way and tucked himself into a roll as bullets ricocheted off of the wall behind him. Pedestrians screamed and panicked, running away from the bullets and throwing Tony even more off balance. The instinct to shift surged through him and he just barely managed to contain it, his eyes dilating to slits and fur rippling up beneath his suit as he scrambled for cover. But there was no cover. There was nowhere to hide.

Just then a second car came racing down the street in front of Stark Tower, its tires letting out a sharp screech as the driver whipped it around in a full one-eighty, drove it half-way up onto the sidewalk, and slammed to a stop right in front of Tony, separating him from the hail of gunfire. Tony gasped out a breath then stumbled towards the car, trying to keep his head down, as he caught a flash of Happy before the man ducked down in the front seat as the all windows in the car were shot out.

Tony could hear bullets hitting the other side of the car and embedding themselves in the metal siding. He crouched down behind the front tire and pressed himself up against the side of the car, keeping his head ducked and his hands over the back of his neck as debris showered down on him. All he could hear was the thunder of gunshots, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that it hurt.

Eventually the shooters seemed to realize that all of their bullets were being absorbed by the reinforced bodywork of Tony’s car and with a loud roar of their engine zoomed away. Shaking, Tony heaved a breath and reached up to fumble at the door handle on the passenger’s side. He yanked it open and Happy almost fell out on top of him as Tony tried to climb inside and Happy tried to crawl out. Tony shoved the man back in and yelled, his voice hoarse, “Stop! Stop, Happy, they’re leaving!”

“What?” The husky man shot up in his seat. Seeing the empty spot in the lane next to them, the man gripped the wheel. “Get inside! I’m not waiting here for them to come back to finish you off.”

Tony wholeheartedly agreed and heaved himself the rest of the way inside, slamming the door behind him so hard he nearly snapped it off its hinges. He tightened his grip on the door handle as Happy rolled them off of the curb and back into the street. “Hogan, you are my hero.”

He saw Happy’s lips draw into a tight smile before the man glanced over at him. “Are you okay, boss?”

“What?”

“You’re holding your arm. Did they hit you?”

“No. I’m fine.” Tony wasn’t fine. It felt like his upper arm was cramping up and like an elephant sat on his chest. It felt like…no, that couldn’t be right. It couldn’t be right. He could feel himself on the bridge of a panic attack and forced himself to calm down. He was in the car, he was safe. No big deal, just some bullets. Wincing as his arm throbbed again, Tony rubbed at it then saw Happy watching him closely from the corner of his eyes.

“Okay.” Everything about the way he had said that single word made it very clear that Happy didn’t buy it. But there were more pressing matters at the moment. “Where to? I don’t think I should take this thing all the way out to the house.”

He definitely shouldn’t. It looked like a lead pincushion and there was broken safety glass everywhere from all the windows getting blown out. “SHIELD then.”

SHILED’s tower was relatively close, only a bit more than ten blocks away and Happy made short work of getting Tony there. He pulled up in a handicapped spot left open in front of the building and barely turned off the engine before the man was scrambling out the door. “Stay!”

“What?” Tony didn’t understand what was happening anymore.

“Just, wait a second.” Happy got out, ran around the front, and tugged Tony’s door open for him. Tony tried to scoff but his breath hitched up half way through the noise and ended up sounding more like a gasp. He let Happy help pull him out like some invalid and then Hogan helped him, half limping, towards the front door of SHIELD’s offices, his man taking care to cover as much of Tony’s body from view as he could.

Tony flung the doors open with shaking hands and Happy shoved him inside and over to a couch pushed him against the wall near the front desk. The woman stationed there had already leapt to her feet with a phone pressed against her ear and before Tony could even call for help the elevator whisked open and who else but Agent Coulson himself rushed out with three other agents on his heels. Coulson was about to run right past Tony but then he skidded to a stop so suddenly one of the female agents following him ran into his back as he did a double-take. The shock there was quickly absorbed back into his standard collected expression. “Stark! I just heard about what happened. The police are looking everywhere for you. Are you injured?”

Tony shook his head, his hand subconsciously moving back to try and massage the pain from his arm. “I just, need to sit for a while.”

Coulson narrowed his eyes and studied Tony for a long moment. “I’m going to call for a doctor.”

“No! No, it’s not, just don’t, I just need to catch my breath.” Tony didn’t want any doctors poking and prodding at him whether they knew he was a Shifter or otherwise. Especially because they might actually find something wrong with him.

“Fine. Agent Ward, send word out to the Police Chief and let him know that Stark is temporarily under our protection. If they ask why we involved ourselves, just tell them that he came to us because of Steve’s affiliation.” A dark haired man behind Coulson nodded and moved to the far side of the lobby to make the call. Meanwhile Coulson had crouched down beside Tony like he was trying to soothe him, the bastard. “You should stay here until the police arrive. I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you.”

Tony rested his head in his hand, knowing that the agent was right. “How do you know about all this already anyway?”

Coulson gave a small shrug. “SHIELD keeps tabs on the police scanners in order to be kept in the loop about any crimes in progress regarding Shifters. From the sound of it, someone in your building heard the shooting and called it in.”

“And the dicks didn’t come out to help me?”

“In their defense, if it was as bad as it sounded over the radio they probably would have been shot and killed before they were even able to step all the way out of the front door. And they probably thought that you were already dead.”  He studied Tony for a minute longer before releasing a sigh and pulling his phone from his jacket. “I’m going to call Steve.”

Groaning, Tony leaned back in his seat then winced as the action caused muscles in his chest to pull tight. “No, come on. Don’t do that.” Steve was in Pennsylvania out on a mission anyway. But of course he wouldn’t need to tell Coulson that. He was the one who sent Steve out there after all.

“He’s your mate, he should know. And he should hear about it from you, not from an app Peter has on his phone.”

It figured…“He told you about what happened last time?”

“He may have mentioned it.”

O~O~O~O

Tony quirked a brow and turned around in his seat as he heard a sudden ruckus burst out from the lobby of the police station. The cops had come to collect him from SHIELD’s protection about three and a half hours ago and had him sitting in an interrogation room ever since. But Steve had made good time. The door out to the hall had been left ajar and he could hear his mate’s voice echo out from the entrance to the station. The Wolf’s voice was tense and aggressive and people all the way back in the holding cells could probably hear him. “Tony Stark, where is he?”

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down.”

That had been a cop. Tony offered the officer in front of him a dry smile as he rose to his feet. “Hey, can I call a time out, just for a second? Thanks.”

“Wait, Mr. Stark…”

But Tony was already half-way out the door. “Be right back, dear.”

Steve’s shouts grew louder as Tony made his way back to the front room. “Where’s Tony?”

“Mr. Stark is fine but if you don’t calm down you will be considered a threat and I will have no choice but to restrain you.”

Tony picked up his pace and rounded the corner to find Steve staring down some poor beat cop with fire in his eyes and five other uniformed officers surrounding him, all of them with their tasers at the ready. Still dressed in his mission-ready tactical gear the Wolf looked ready to do some damage and his whole body seemed drawn tight and ready to spring. Tony had to defuse this quick before Steve got himself fried by being overprotective. “Steve!” Steve’s gaze snapped to him at the sound of his voice and for a second Tony could have sworn he saw a flash of Wolf in his mate’s eyes. This wasn’t good; he was too worked up. “Hey, back up, he’s fine. “ Waving the officers down, Tony walked right in the middle of it all and grabbed Steve’s arms. “Steve, take a deep breath, big dog. You’re causing a scene. Which is a bit ironic considering how things usually go between the two of us.”

Steve did just that and sucked in a deep breath before slowly letting it back out. The cops slowly lowered their tasers and fell back as Steve fell into a more relaxed stance. He reached up to touch Tony, his hands ghosting up his sides to run across his shoulders then cup his face, silently searching for injuries. “I got here as fast as I could. Phil called me, he told me that someone had tried to shoot you.”

“He wasn’t lying.”

Tony looked over his shoulder as the Lieutenant who he had spent the last three hours speaking to peeked his head out of the interrogation room. “Mr. Stark, we’d like to continue the interview.”

Steve’s hand slid down Tony’s arm to clutch at his hand and knew that he wasn’t going back there alone. “Sure. Steve’s coming in with me though.”

“Mr. Stark—“

Seeing a refusal ready to fall off of the man’s lips, Tony cut him off before he could even finish his sentence. “I insist.” And he made sure his tone had left no room for argument. It was the same voice he used when he was closing multi-million dollar deals and—unbeknownst to humans—the same voice an alpha would use on other Shifters when it would be a very, very bad idea to cross them. He was sure they already knew who Steve was and if they hadn’t recognized him from the news stories Tony had been talking about him for hours so the man should at least recognize his name. Tony wasn’t here as a suspect, he was the victim, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the police deny him his partner’s presence.

O~O

Steve didn’t care about who was watching and grabbed Tony’s hand tighter to intertwine their fingers.  He had literally dropped everything the moment he had gotten Phil’s phone call about the shooting and left Clint and Thor in the middle of their mission in Pennsylvania with the single-minded purpose of getting back to town as soon as possible. But Tony seemed alright. Not quite his usual energetic self but at least Steve couldn’t see any wounds on his mate. Not that he wasn’t going to do a more thorough check later.

He let Tony guide him back to the small room they had been holding him in, judging by the scents in the room and only sat down once Tony and the police officer interviewing him did. The officer took a moment to recollect himself. “So we’ve gone over what happened. Can you tell me anything about the person or persons who were firing the weapons?”

Steve watched Tony carefully as he leaned back in his seat, detailing every sign of stress in his face and the barely perceptible underlying tension in his voice. “There were at least two of them, maybe three. I was a little distracted by all the bullets so I didn’t quite catch what they looked like but I think they were wearing hats or hoods and had sunglasses over their eyes.”

Tony’s nonchalant narration of the event made anger flare up quick and hot in his chest again and Steve sucked in another deep breath. The officer eyed him before turning his eyes back to Tony. “That doesn’t give us much to go on.”

Tony scoffed. “There’s nothing I can do about that. All I can say for sure is that they were human.”

“How can you be sure?”

Steve could answer that one. Leaning forward, he was relieved to hear his voice had returned to its normal tenor. “Because Shifters don’t operate like that.” And it was true. Even though Shifters, particularly alphas, were known to take more dangerous professions such as careers in the military, the sort of attack that Tony just described went against an instinctual mode of operations that Shifters had. “I can call SHIELD and see if—“

The man across the table cut him off with a wave of his hand and Steve had to bite back a snarl. “If they were human then there’s no reason to get SHIELD involved in any of this. The last thing we need is them coming in and wrapping red tape around our investigation.” Steve growled but looked away. “Now, given that this happened only two weeks after that bomb in your office I think it’s safe to say that there’s a likely a connection between the two.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” There was a low hiss buried in Tony’s tone.

“It follows that they’ll try to come after you again. Given the nature of the crimes and the danger it poses not only to you but the general public, the Chief has formed a task force to try and catch whoever is responsible. We’re chasing down all the leads we can but there is a chance that they will try to kill you again before we can identify them. That means you need to prepare yourself for another assassination attempt. We can have two officers on rotation guarding you at all times but that might not be enough. I know you have a good deal of resources at your disposal, Mr. Stark, so my advice to you is that you make use of some of them and lay low for the next few weeks.”

Steve actually agreed with the officer on that point but Tony just rolled his eyes. “I have a company to run and I’m not about to be run off by some lunatic with a couple guns. You can keep your officers and have them help out somewhere else; I’ll hire my own security team.”

Steve straightened in his uncomfortable plastic chair. “I can help.”

Again, the officer waved him off. “I thought you might say that. Given your experience I wouldn’t expect anything else from you, Mr. Rogers, but I can’t stress enough that you cannot in any way harm any human who may be involved in this. No matter your intentions it is strictly against the law for a Shifter to attack a human.”

Steve wanted to leap to his feet and stalk around the small room. “Even if that human is trying to kill my mate?”

“Even if that human is trying to kill your mate.”

“But—“

For the first time since Steve had been in the room the officer’s tough cop mask cracked just long enough for Steve to see genuine regret on the man’s face. “I know how it sounds and I’m not trying to be an ass. I’m telling you this because if you did there would be nothing any of us could do to cover it up if something like that went public and you could easily be given the death penalty.”

Steve went stock still. He wanted to call the man on it, to say that he was exaggerating but he had seen such things happen with his own eyes. In his lifetime at least five Shifters had been “put down” in the state for harming humans. Three of them had actually gone wild, or lost sense of their human sides, but the other two Steve knew of had claimed self-defense or due cause. Their claims hadn’t saved them during their trials.

He kept Tony’s hand in his for the next hour as Tony and the police Lieutenant finished up. Then Tony was finally released and Steve was able to take him home. Natasha was home and was waiting up with Peter in the front room. It was clear that she already knew what Tony had been through that day and it wasn’t a surprise to Steve. SHIELD already knew about it and Natasha had access to their intelligence information. Seeing Tony walk through the door calmed them both and Steve tried to keep the afternoon as normal as possible as they waited for the rest of the pack to return home.

Steve knew that Tony was due for some time to himself so he didn’t protest when the Panther separated from them to go off on his own. Steve found he was busy enough anyway as he tried to explain everything to Peter and Natasha and then Bruce when his Beta arrived home completely ignorant of what had happened to Tony. When he had heard he had wanted to find the Cat to give him a thorough check-up but Steve had dissuaded him to give Tony a chance to unwind.

Eventually everyone reluctantly began to fall back into their regular evening routines. Steve stayed close to Peter as a sort of proxy to being able to stick close to Tony. Peter seemed to appreciate it and kept just as close to Steve.

Their manufactured peace was interrupted by the house phone ringing. Steve snatched it up and was unsurprised to find a detective on the other end of the line calling to ask some follow up questions in reference to Tony’s interview. “ _We just need to ask a few more questions but there’s no point in asking you to come all the way back to the station._ ”

“Of course. Please hold for a moment.” Pulling the phone away from his ear, Steve nodded towards Peter who had been listening in. “Peter, can you go look for your Dad please?” It was getting late anyway. After this call maybe they could get dinner started.

 “Sure.” He hopped up and hurried off, lifting his nose to sniff the air as he rushed out of the room to catch and follow his dad’s scent trail.

Steve engaged the detective in a small interrogation of his own until Peter reappeared and Steve paused mid-sentence as he realized that Tony hadn’t returned with their son. Peter was frowning, his teeth worrying his bottom lip as he walked back into the room. “Pop?” Steve nodded to show that he was listening and Peter swallowed. “Pop, something’s wrong with Dad.”

He barely took the time to make an excuse before hanging up on the detective and following Peter back down to the workshop. Steve wasn’t surprised that Tony had chosen to retreat down there and his mind raced as he tried to figure out what Peter had meant. The young Wolf didn’t seem panicked but he did seem bothered by it and more intent on showing Steve rather than explaining himself.

Catching sight of his mate half-slumped over a desk Steve tilted his head as he made his way over. “What’s going o--?” Then he smelled it. The strong, pungent odor of alcohol. He quickened his pace and as soon as he rounded the corner one look at the Cat’s face confirmed it. “Tony! For God’s sake, what are you doing?” Tony was drunk. _Very_ drunk by the look of it, especially by Shifter standards. If Steve had known this was what Tony had disappeared to do he wouldn’t have let him run off.

Tony rolled his head over to look at Steve and pushed the bottle he was holding over to the small pile that had gathered on the corner of the table. His eyes were glassy and his cheeks were flushed from the booze coursing through his system. Up close the smell of it was so strong that it almost overpowered Tony’s natural scent and that only caused Steve’s temper to rise further. “I’m re-relaxing, what the hell does it look like?”

Clenching his jaw to keep himself from yelling, Steve waited until he was sure he wouldn’t say anything insulting and even when he felt he could speak again he chose his words very carefully. “Peter, go get Bruce then please go up to your room.” Peter’s mouth fell open and he flinched back and Steve shook his head. “You’re not in trouble, your Dad’s just not well right now.” He didn’t want Peter to have to see Tony like this.

Tony snorted loudly and slammed his hands down on his desk. “For fuck’s sake, stop talking about me like I’m not in the room!”

“Be quiet, Tony.”

“Fuck you!”

Sighing, Steve waved at Peter. He seemed to have been frozen but as Steve’s wave he nodded once then took off back up the stairs. Once Peter had left, Steve risked approaching the Cat. He hadn’t wanted to physically get to close while their son had been watching because he knew there was a chance Tony would lash out and it would end in a fight. One Steve would win very easily, but a fight nonetheless. Tony was his mate but he was still an alpha and a drunk alpha could be a very dangerous thing, even to other Shifters. And Tony knew that. He had known that when he had grabbed his first bottle. He had no idea why Tony would willingly drink himself to this point.

Steve was indescribably angry at Tony for doing it but he was also extremely worried and his worry gentled his tone and his touch as he wrapped his arm around his mate’s waist and attempted to haul him to his feet. “Come on. Let’s go sober you up.”

Tony grumbled but thankfully didn’t try to attack him. He even seemed like he tried to help but he was so unsteady on his feet that by the time they reached the top of the stairs Steve was practically carrying him. He led Tony all the way into the kitchen then sat him down at the counter. Once he was sure that Tony wasn’t going to topple off his stool he stepped away, started the coffee pot, then moved over to the cabinet to get Tony a glass for water. “How much have you had to drink?”

Tony had slumped over the counter, one hand buried in his mussed hair and his other draped across the marble surface, his hand dangling off the edge. “Well, that bottle was full when I started. And so was the other one. The big one was half empty though.”

Steve bit back a curse. All of the bottles he had caught sight of on Tony’s desk downstairs had been hard alcohol. It was no wonder he was as plastered as he was; in fact, it was a shock that he could still form full sentences. Steve had never seen Tony like this before and it scared him a little bit.

Bruce chose that moment to burst in through the door and his eyes widened in shock as he saw Tony’s collapsed form. It looked like Peter had told him what happened but he hadn’t really believed it until that moment. Then a cloud of concerned anger flashed in his eyes and he marched over to where they were sitting. “Tony, what were you thinking?”

Tony snorted again and Steve shook his head at the noise. He understood where Bruce was coming from but there wasn’t a point to it for now. “You should save your voice until some of the booze is out of his system. He could barely walk up here.” Bruce growled— _growled—_ but kept whatever else he wanted to say inside as Steve passed Tony a full glass of cold water. “Tony, drink that water.”

“You drink it.” Tony slapped the glass away and sent it flying off of the counter to shatter on the floor ten feet away.

Steve pulled in a long breath and forced himself to turn away to pull another cup—plastic this time—out of the cabinet. He counted to ten in his head as he calmly filled it with some more water then passed it to Tony. “Tony, drink it.”

Tony glared up at him with his bloodshot eyes but this time grabbed the cup and belligerently chugged the water before shoving the cup away again. Steve watched him for a long moment before turning to Bruce and motioning for his Beta to follow him out of the room. Slipping around the corner just far enough to get them out of Tony’s line of sight Steve lowered his voice to a whisper. Tony would be able to hear if he really listened but Steve had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to focus long enough to understand their conversation. “Bruce…Can you talk to him? If he was driven to this…” Steve had a hard time trying to think of a way to finish his sentence but couldn’t bring himself to voice his real thoughts. So he swallowed and moved on. “Something’s obviously eating at him but if he hasn’t mentioned it to me already…He might open up to you.”

Bruce sighed but nodded as the rest of his anger seemed to flood out of him. Now he just looked tired. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks. I’ll go check on Peter.”

O~O

Bruce paused then walked back into the kitchen and sat next to Tony, running his fingers through his graying hair. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, both just staring across the counter at the oven. Trying to talk with Tony in the state he was in might have seemed like a fruitless effort but Bruce thought that now was the perfect time. He had known the Panther long enough to know that he was still cognizant of what he was saying on some level but hopefully drunk enough to not try and cover anything up. So hopefully that would give Bruce an advantage.

Of course he was also going to have to be careful. Steve had been manhandling Tony like it was no big deal but Bruce couldn’t help but feel on edge around the Cat. He trusted Tony with his life but he didn’t know how strongly the alcohol would affect him. If Bruce said the wrong thing and Tony lashed out there was a chance that Bruce could get hurt. Or worse, that it would cause him to Shift. But he was still willing to give this a shot. Tony seemed in control of himself enough still that he wouldn’t risk not just Bruce’s safety but the safety of the whole pack.  Nevertheless Bruce kept his tone relaxed as he spoke to try and keep from making the situation any worse. “I don’t get it, Tony. Why start drinking now?”

Tony let out a slurred noise that Bruce realized a second later was supposed to be a laugh. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I had a rough couple of weeks here.”

“I noticed.” And he was very happy that Tony seemed to be willing to talk. “But what made you turn to alcohol?”

The alpha gave a lazy shrug, as if the muscles in his arms and shoulders weren’t quite working the way he wanted them to. “It always worked before. I mean, you know, sort of worked.”

Bruce tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

He saw Tony frown before he picked his head up far enough to make eye contact with Bruce. “Don’t think you know everything about me just because you’re my doctor. I got pretty damn good at self-medicating before Steve.”

Was he implying what Bruce thought he was implying. Bruce couldn’t keep his brow from furrowing but he fought to keep anything resembling judgment out of his voice. “Tony, did you have an alcohol problem?”

Tony shrugged again as he turned his head into the crook of his arm. “Pepper and Rhodey said so. I say I was fine. Or, I got fine, once Pepper threatened to quit.”

“How long had it been going on?” Bruce thought back to when he had been close to Tony when he was just a teen. “I always knew you drank but you seemed to have it under control when I knew you.” Even back then Tony had been quite happy to brag about the high school parties he had been to but Bruce had never seen him overindulge, even when he had been going through recovery. Since then he had read some of the articles the gossip columns had put out about the young entrepreneur and they had all described Tony Stark as going through some rough patches but nothing beyond the usual rebellious celebrity activity.

“’Bout…shit,” Tony shook his head, “ten years ago now. I just…A couple years after Dad died and I had the company everything just seemed so, so boring, you know. Pointless. So, I started drinking and it made things better, for a while. Then I had this birthday party and almost ended up killing Rhodey and Pepper said she was going to quit so I quit drinking hard instead. And it’s been fine since. I’m fine.”

“Well, you have been good about it.” And Bruce meant it. If Tony had fallen as far into it as it sounded, he had made an impressive comeback. Bruce had even seen him drink before and for a past addict to dabble in their trigger substance and still keep on a strong resistance against it…That had to take an immense amount of willpower. “I didn’t even realize—until today that is. What pushed you back over the edge?”

“I’m _not_ ‘over the edge’. Just slipped…”

“What made you slip?”

“...I…Just,” Tony’s voice trailed off for a long moment before Bruce saw a small, twisted smile flicker onto his lips. “…coming to terms with my own mortality I guess.”

“Well, no one’s going to live forever, Tony. Which makes what we do with our lives mean so much. And no one here is going to let you waste yours in the bottom of a bottle. Just like no one here is going to let you die so easily. You’re remarkably resilient, Tony. Don’t let these attempts on your life change you.”

 “…I don’t want to die, Bruce.”

“Like I said, no one here wants that either. We’ll figure this out and the police will find whoever is coming after you.”

Bruce reached out and rested a hand on Tony’s shoulder and the Cat allowed it, though his next words were barely loud enough for Bruce to hear. “…What if it’s not them?”

“Hmm?”

“What if it’s not them that kills me?”

A small sense of foreboding snaked up Bruce’s spine at Tony’s tone but shook it off. “Then we’ll figure that out too. Now I’m going to get you more water and you’re going to drink it.”

“I want the coffee.”

So he had noticed Steve start up the coffee pot after all. But Bruce wasn’t going to bend on this. “Water will keep you hydrated better and will keep you from puking up your stomach in a few hours.”

Tony lifted his head again and this time his smile was more sincere. “Is that official medical advice?”

“Absolutely.”

O~O

Steve looked up as Bruce met him in the hall. He had heard the beta leading Tony back up to his room and was anxious to find out how it had gone. He had clearly managed to talk at least a bit of sense into the Cat. “Did you figure it out?”

Bruce crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. “He’s just scared, Steve. But that’s not really a surprise given what’s happening.”

“Alright.” Steve sighed and took in another deep breath as if to steel himself  then gave a quick nod of affirmation. “Alright, it’s time to do something about this.”

“Let Tony sleep off the alcohol first. Luckily I don’t think that this will be a repeat performance. At least not any time soon.”

“Good.” Steve reached out and rested his hands on Bruce’s arms. “Thanks for talking to him.”

Bruce smiled at the acknowledgment but the expression faded from his face as fast as it had appeared.  “So far it’s been all I could do to help him through any of this.”

“And it’s still more than I’ve been able to do.”

Steve hadn’t been able to keep the bitterness out of his voice and Bruce made a small sound in the back of his throat before reaching up and patting Steve’s arm. “Hang in there, Steve. This won’t last forever.”

O~O~O~O

Steve perked up as he heard a rustling from the other side of the bed and rolled over to find Tony blinking his eyes open, his face screwed up into a pained grimace. “Hey…How are you feeling?” It had been almost eight hours since Tony had passed out. Steve had stayed up into the early hours of the morning to make sure he would be alright. Honestly he hadn’t been able to sleep anyway with Tony’s fevered movements and mutterings beside him. But he knew he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been able to sleep. He could hear and smell the rest of the pack wandering restlessly around the rest of the house, save for Peter who had finally passed out in his bed.

Groaning, Tony rolled back over and pressed his hand on his sweat-soaked pillow. “…Like I slammed my head into a brick wall.”

“I think that’s probably the bottle of scotch you drank.”

“Ugh…” Tony’s nostrils flared against his pillow and he jerked his head back. “I drank all of it?”

“Down to the last drop.”

Tony let out another moan before rolling over so that his nose was buried against Steve’s hip. “Damn it. I was saving that.”

Steve gave in and combed his fingers through Tony’s hair. He wanted to let Tony stay like that for as long as he wanted but he couldn’t do that. They had waited on him long enough and he wasn’t going to let things continue as they were for one more minute. So he pulled his hand away despite Tony’s verbal protests. “Can you stand up?”

Tony flailed around a bit before realizing that Steve was serious. Then he pushed himself up onto his elbows and crawled over to the edge of the bed. “Yeah. Wait—“ Tony covered his mouth with his fist as a wave of nausea seemed to wash over him. But he managed to keep it down and swung his legs off of the mattress. “Yeah. I’m good. Why?”

“We want to talk downstairs.”

“Who’s ‘we’? And talk about what?”

“You’ll see.” 

Tony scowled but he stumbled after Steve as he made his way toward the door. “You know I don’t like surprises.”

Nodding, Steve pushed open the door then offered Tony his arm for support. “I know. This shouldn’t be a surprise.”

Tony ignored his arm and shuffled right on by him. “It’s about me then, huh? Is it already time for an intervention?”

“Sort of.” Just not the sort Tony was thinking of.

“Fine, but I can do without being sent to rehab, no matter how nice the facilities are.”

“We’re not sending you away.”

“That’s what they always say before they send you away.”

The others were already waiting for them in the living room, all of them falling quiet as Steve and Tony made their way inside. Clint and Thor had arrived back home about an hour ago so everyone was present, even Loki though he stayed quiet in his perch in the corner of the room.

Steve broke the silence after Tony had sat down in the chair they had all left open for him. He seemed so tired still that Steve almost broke and offered to take Tony back upstairs. But, no, this had to happen. This talk was a long time coming and everyone in the pack had a right to voice their opinion on this. This wasn’t all about Tony—it was _never_ all about Tony. It affected them all, and it was time that Tony recognized that. “Tony, this is about the attempt that was made on your life yesterday. I don’t care what the officer said, I’m not letting you deal with this alone. None of us are.”

Tony winced and rubbed at his temple. He probably had a heck of a migraine but Steve wasn’t going to let that sway him. “Yeah, I figured.”

A rare bout of seriousness came over Clint’s face and the Hawk leaned forward. “Do you need us to step in? Natasha or I can have this whole thing settled out the next time anyone tries to make a move.”

Tony shook his head at the reminder that two members of his pack were professional assassins. “Steve’s enough. I don’t need anyone to end up with an arrow or a bullet in their eye.”

Frowning, Thor crossed his broad arms over his chest as he rested back against one of the armchairs. “It is disturbing that one of our own should be targeted in this manner. There is truly nothing we can do to assist you?”

Tony’s response was immediate and one no one wanted to hear. “Nope. Especially you. We don’t need any international incidents.”

Natasha shook her head in disgust. “It’s ridiculous. We could have put a stop to this hours after the bombing attempt.”

Throwing his hands up in the air, Tony turned his bleary gaze on her. “Do you think I don’t know that? I _am_ aware of what all you do for a living. But the way this has already been publicized it would be a nightmare if you all came in with guns blazing.”

Thor scoffed as Clint fell back in his seat with a huff. “So we instead are expected to remain silent and wait for some serious misfortune to befall you? I do not understand; if we have the ability to come to your aid we should be allowed to do so.”

“Yeah, well, life’s not fair. Don’t know what else to tell you. Besides, you guys should be busy solving bigger problems; I’m pretty sure that half of you are actually supposed to be out on missions right now.”

Steve put his hands on his waist. There was no point in lying. “Some assignments might have come in they can wait.”

“Seriously?” Tony’s tone was pure incredulity as he looked first as Steve then at the rest of the pack. “Look, all of you, I’ll be fine, okay? The drinking thing was a fluke.  I’ll rehire my security team. The police are forming a damn taskforce. There is no one in the eastern seaboard more equipped to handle this than me. You guys need to get back to doing your jobs. The only reason I’m even putting up with Steve’s possessive _bullshit_ is because I know he’s not going to let up until he gets his way. I don’t need the rest of you trying to do it to.”

Bruce finally spoke up, the beta wringing his hands. “We’re just concerned about you, Tony. Notwithstanding the drinking thing. Despite how you’re acting now it’s not normal for someone to be actively trying to kill you.”

Steve nodded. “Especially if they don’t even know you’re a Shifter and involved in SHIELD missions.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony seemed to give up and pushed himself up onto his feet. “Are you done tag-teaming me? If so I’m going to go up and get some more sleep.”

Thor rose to his feet as well and even Natasha seemed ready to stop Tony from leaving but Steve held a hand out as a silent motion for them to stand down. They weren’t going to get any further with Tony this morning. So he just nodded to his mate as the Cat brushed by him to leave the room. “Fine. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

The tension didn’t leave when Tony did and the rest of them were left to simmer in it as they all listened as Tony tromped back up the stairs and to his and Steve’s room. When he final heard the door close, Clint pushed himself off of the couch and moved close to Steve. “Tell me you have a plan to secret us in to help Tony out?”

Steve released a long breath and looked around the room. Clint, Bruce, Natasha, and Thor were each reflecting his own thoughts on their faces. Frustration, fear, the desire to act but not knowing what they could do. Even Loki appeared mildly unsettled by the whole thing and once upon a time he had tried to kill them himself, including trying to bomb them.  Though that had been more of Hydra’s tactic than the Raven’s. And Steve wanted to have better news for them. “I wish I could say I did. I hate to say it I think that this needs to be as small of an operation as possible. And he’s right; we all know that we’ve been getting a new set of assignments that should be addressed.” The mission he, Clint, and Thor had been out on the day before had just been one in a series that they had just been assigned. They couldn’t ignore their work. But that didn’t mean that they had to ignore Tony either. “In the meantime though, we can set up a rotation. If anyone isn’t out on a mission or dealing with preparations they can be watching Tony from a distance. Between all of us we should be able to set up a four hour rotation to cover the time he’s away from the house.”

Everyone seemed slightly soothed by the idea but Steve knew they all felt it wasn’t enough. Thor growled. “We and all our strength, and yet this is all we may do. It does not sit well with me.”

“I don’t like it either but for now this is the way we have to play it.” Tony wasn’t going to do this alone anymore. The next time someone tried to take Tony’s life the would-be murder would have to answer to the pack.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! Sorry this one took me a little longer to get out, folks! My weekend got a little filled up by an overnight stay on Alcatraz but I wanted to make sure to push this baby out before the two-week mark had passed between it and the last chapter. And I did, one day shy of the mark. Whoo! Haha, anyway, huge thanks go to those who commented on the last chapter!! Reading your feedback always makes my day. :)

Tony worked from home for a week. Not so much because he didn’t want to go into the office but because Steve, Pepper, Happy, and his lawyers all conspired against him to make it happen. Well, they might have all independently thought it up but they combined forces as soon as they realized each other’s intentions. Pepper would drive over every day to deliver paperwork and manage her end of the business across the desk next to his in the study. They had entirely taken over the room and kept the door closed off throughout most of the day to keep noise and the rest of the pack out.

That system worked for only so long before Tony’s temper started to flare at being cooped up for too long. It was actually Pepper who threw in the towel and demanded that they move Stark Industries back to the Tower despite the safety risks. Steve wasn’t happy about it but he definitely understood. The woman had lasted longer than most would have crammed into a single room with Tony Stark for eight hours a day.

But while Steve agreed that they should move back, he had some stipulations. The first was something Tony had already been planning on doing: hire a private security team. The second was that Tony was going to have to personally take more drastic measures to ensure his own safety. And the third was that Steve was going in with him. It surprised Steve that the demand that bothered Tony the most was the second. Maybe it was just because Steve had taken it upon himself to decide _how_ Tony should protect himself a little better. But, really, given the fact that he had been shot at the last time he left work it wasn’t too out of left field that Steve wanted Tony to wear a bullet-proof vest.

Tony had minded the vest the most because he had already known the other demands were inevitable. After all, he had already promised the police that his security team would be coming back and he knew that Steve would want to come with them. He was also very aware that he had been under watch since the shooting by the entire pack. They had tried to be subtle about it at first but Tony would have to have been blind—or human—not to notice Clint stalking him at a distance when he went out for a run three days ago. It didn’t matter that Clint had been almost silent as he moved; Tony’s senses had picked up on the Bird almost as soon as he had jogged out into the woods behind his house. After that the pack had realized that Tony knew they were there but that he hadn’t stopped them.

Steve had just given up on trying to be coy about it and after Tony started going back to work he simply started following Tony. If it wasn’t Steve than it was Bruce or Clint, but Steve was the most obvious about it. He just stood at Tony’s door like an on-duty sentry guard for eight hours. It put the professionalism of the body guards Tony had rehired to shame.

Despite his mate’s looming presence going back to work wasn’t as hard as Tony had thought it might be. The maintenance crew had patched up all of the bullet holes in the front of the building so there were no reminders of the drive by. And nearly all of his employees were treating him like some sort of god. Well, more godlike than usual. Surviving two assassination attempts in such a short span of time had them fawning over him like never before. It definitely wasn’t the worst sort of attention in the world, though Tony wasn’t able to relax until he had closed himself up in his temporary office.

Half a month went by in that manner. This time around, Tony didn’t fire his security staff and endured it. He may be impatient and impulsive but he was capable of learning lessons and having someone try to gun you down outside your own building was a pretty decent wake-up call. He wouldn’t ever say it out-loud but it helped to have a member of the pack around. No matter who it was they kept the security guards for crowding quite so closely around him and didn’t make Tony feel quite so claustrophobic.

Pepper tried especially hard to make everything normal for him and the company, and it wasn’t long before he was scheduled to make his first appearance outside of his make-shift office. Mentally he was more than ready for it but Steve insisted on personally prepping him for the encounter. Which was ridiculous. He was going to a meeting in his own damn building. He knew the room he was scheduled to be in, he knew the people he was going to meet, he wasn’t getting any mail delivered, it would be fine.

Steve glanced up as Tony heaved out a huge sigh. “This is stupid.”

“It’s not stupid, Tony. This is about saving your life.” Up until now Tony had successfully managed to talk his way out of wearing the bullet proof vest Steve had obtained from SHIELD but today no amount of distraction or negotiation on the Cat’s part was going to change Steve’s mind.

They were in the small, windowless room Tony had taken over as his office while a construction crew put the finishing touches on Tony’s old office. Steve had taken a peek at the damage on one of his first days following Tony to work: the damage had been extensive and there were some serious structural problems that had been created due to the explosion. The construction crew had essentially been forced to strip the entire office down to the studs and rebuild it from scratch.

Steve heard the door to the room open and Pepper stepped through, closing the door firmly behind her. “Tony, the meeting starts in fifteen minutes. Would you please just put the vest on so there might be a chance we can make it on time?”

Tony rolled his eyes but, realizing that he was outnumbered, grudgingly yanked his tie off and began to unbutton his dress shirt. “…You’re both way too serious. How about some smiles?”

Steve didn’t appreciate Tony’s attempt at a joke and neither did Pepper. Her lips pressed into a tight frown. “Someone is trying to kill you!”

“And they’ve done a hell of a job with it so far, haven’t they?”

Shaking his head, Steve helped Tony pull his dress shirt off. He was wearing a tank top underneath, subconsciously adding another layer to guard his scar from view, but it would help to make the vest more comfortable. “They would have managed it if you were human.”

Pepper nodded her agreement then strode over to Tony’s desk and flipped through a small stack of paperwork.  “Once Steve checks you over we can head downstairs. Where did you put your notes?”

Tony glanced back over his shoulder at her as Steve began to strap the vest over his chest. “What? What notes?”

“The notes I told you to write up for the meeting?”

“Did you make that a question because you weren’t sure or because you expect me to remember it if you make your voice go up at the end?”

Steve frowned and tugged a little too hard on one of the side straps to tighten it up. “That was rude.”

But Pepper only waved it off, far too used to Tony to take anything like that personally anymore. “It’s okay, Steve. This is normal, which, quite frankly, is something I need more of right now.” Tony smiled then turned his lips down in an overly serious expression as she turned back to him. “You’re meeting with some of our western investment brokers and will be discussing the transfer of a lot of money so you will actually have to pay attention to what they say.”

Tony already looked bored. “Can’t you just do it?”

“It’s your money, Tony. Unless you want to change the name to Potts Industries and transfer all of your money to my bank account?”

“Nah, I’m alright. Besides, people might get the wrong idea about our relationship and you know how sensitive Steve can get about that sort of thing.”

Steve and Pepper scoffed at the same time and shared a look over Tony’s shoulder as Steve walked around him to tighten the straps up in the back. Pepper then gave up looking through the paperwork on Tony’s desk and straightened. “That’s what I thought. Now, I’m going to go make sure everything is in place. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Grunting as Steve finished adjusting his vest, Tony flicked his chin up in a quick acknowledgment. “Sure, Pep. Make sure that there’s some water waiting for me, will you? This vest is going to make me overheat. Bottled water, not that shit tap stuff. And make sure it’s cold.”

Pepper spared Tony one final look before slipping out the door to make sure that everything was properly prepared. As she closed the door Steve decided that the vest was wrapped around Tony’s torso as seamlessly as possible. It was form-fitting so Tony was able to pull his white button-down over it. “See?” Steve smoothed a hand down his mate’s chest before he helped him do up the buttons. “No one will even know you’re wearing it.”

Tony snorted and let Steve finish up his buttons as he snatched his tie back up and began to redo the knot around his neck. “Oh, yeah. It looks totally natural.”

Alright, so it did give his front an unnaturally straight edge but no one would notice unless they were looking for it. “Put the jacket on.”  

Tony hissed but finished up with his tie and snagged his suit jacket off the back of his chair. He yanked it on then pointedly held his arms out for Steve’s inspection. “Do I pass? Can I go down and be CEO of my own company now?”

 “Almost. Here.” Reaching up, Steve bit his lip in concentration as pulled a small radio receiver from his pocket and carefully slipped it into Tony’s ear. It was similar to the type they used while out on missions but clearly not as technologically complex. Because this wasn’t technically a SHIELD mission, Phil hadn’t been able to procure the best gear. From what he had told Steve it wouldn’t be able to change its shape if either of them decided to shift but it was going to have to do. “We’re using these to stay in constant communications with you.”

Steve took it as a compliment that Tony let him fiddle with the earpiece until it stayed in place. But he wasn’t expecting anything else but Tony’s dry sarcasm. “Really? We’re doing the whole ‘secret agent’ thing for a meeting?”

“And we’re using code names over the line to increase security.”

Again, they didn’t have access to the same level of technology they usually did and so had to use a standard radio channel so it was possible that whoever was coming after Tony would stumble across it.

Tony rolled his eyes harder than Steve had seen in a while. “Oh my god…Which codenames?”

“SHIELDs.”

“So you’re ‘Captain’ and I’m ‘Ironman’. You’re ridiculous.”

Steve shrugged. There was no such thing as being too prepared. “One of the members of your security team is also a SHIELD agent. Technically it’s not going against any rules because the man is legitimately a member of both professions. Phil just made sure that his resume made it to the company you hired your security team from.”

Tony opened his mouth then seemed to think better of whatever he was about to say. With a shake of his head, Tony’s gaze fell to his hands as he buttoned up his suit jacket. “You’re too much, Agent Rogers.”

“I’m really not.” This was the least he could do and it wasn’t nearly enough. They had agreed that Steve wouldn’t follow Tony into his meeting and he had only agreed after he had Natasha help him run a thorough background check on everyone who was scheduled to be in the meeting with him. Luckily he wouldn’t be far away and would be in a position to keep an eye on the room Tony was in. It helped that while _he_ wouldn’t be going in with Tony, the rest of Tony’s security team would be. It had to be enough for now. 

Releasing a small grunt, Steve cupped the back of Tony’s neck and leaned down to connect their lips in a deep kiss. A moan slipped out of Tony’s throat and closed he his eyes as he parted his lips for Steve’s tongue. Steve’s hands moved down to clutch at his mate’s shirt and for the first time that afternoon really hated the vest too because it kept him from pressing up against Tony’s chest. Pulling away slowly, Steve nipped at Tony’s bottom lip as he straightened up and Tony let out a breathy laugh. “Wow. You must really be worried about me.”

The smile that had welled up Steve’s lips died. “Someone has to be since you’re not.”

Tony smirked at his reprimanding tone and took a step back away from Steve. “So, I assume you’ll be lingering in the shadows somewhere?”

“If you want to put it that way, yes. Phil agreed to meet me out on the street and we’re going to stakeout the building in an unmarked van.”

“Oh, good. They’ll never suspect a thing.”

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not particularly worried about whether they notice us or not. Up until now they seem to be willing to attack if you’re alone or if you’re surrounding by witnesses.”

Tony huffed out a breath then spun around on his heels to make his way towards the door. “You’re wasting your time.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Any further retort caught in Steve’s throat as he watched Tony walk away. After having Tony for a mate for so many years, the sarcastic comments had done nothing to dull his worry for the Panther. “Stay safe.”

“Please. You say that like I’m ever anything else.”

“I, don’t even—“ Steve shook his head. “I’m not going to answer that.” But he did know what he wanted to say next. “I love you.”

Tony paused with his hand on the doorknob at those words and when he answered back the mockery had finally left his voice. “I know. I’ll see you soon.”

O~O~O~O~O

The meeting had to be the slowest, most useless thing Tony had ever been forced to sit through. Alright, that was a lie, but this was definitely in the top ten. He had considered just walking out after the first five minutes but it actually seemed legitimately important. That, and he knew Pepper would probably try to castrate him if he did. She had stayed for the first fifteen minutes but had been called away by an important call from a Japanese shareholder. Before she left she had given him a very clear silent warning to behave. They weren’t making it easy on him though. It felt like being back in high school being lectured on something he already considered himself an expert in.

Frowning, Tony glanced over his shoulder out the window. They were up on the fifteenth floor of Stark Tower so it had a great view of the city streets below. But they weren’t what drew his attention away from the four business men and women in front of him. He didn’t know what he was looking for as his eyes skimmed over the buildings around him. His gaze continued down to the street and he shook his head.

There was a white van parked on the sidewalk with a plumbing logo plastered on the side. At least SHIELD had put some sort of company name on it so someone didn’t call the cops on _them_ for loitering in a vehicle that just screamed ‘child molesting kidnapper’. 

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony’s eye snapped back to the meeting. “Yes?”

“Your thoughts on buying shares in the wind farm in California?”

That would be problematic since he had hadn’t exactly been paying attention. So he just shrugged and nodded. “Sure, I love Californian wind. Make it happen.”

The woman who had been speaking froze up a bit at his sudden declaration, apparently caught off guard. Shaking herself off, she raised her brows expectantly. “I’m afraid I’ll need a more detailed opinion than that, Mr. Stark.”

Shit. Oh well. “Then can you go back over whatever you were just talking about for the past five minutes?”

Everyone in the room let out a small sigh but no one seemed too surprised. As they launched back into their proposal Tony tried to keep his attention locked on them but that itchy feeling that had him scanning out the window in the first place was still there and Tony could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It was the same sensation he got when someone was staring at him. Which was ridiculous, because who would be staring at him? The people already in the room with him were giving him funny looks but that wasn’t what was causing it. He knew Steve was watching him but from the inside of a creeper van so it wasn’t him either. But his instincts had never led him wrong before and the tingle on the back of his neck wasn’t going away. He must have gotten seriously paranoid over the last month, but that had to be a reasonable reaction to almost getting killed twice.

“Mr. Stark? Is everything alright?”

Tony startled a bit at the voice but used the momentum to straighten up in his chair as if that had been his attention all along. “Yeah. Yeah, sure.” His gaze darted over to where the four most senior members of his security team were standing at attention against the wall. They didn’t seem to be on edge about anything. Of course, they were human so they missed a lot just due to their natural limitations. “We were talking about opening up a new wind farm in the San Joaquin Valley.”

“We were.”

“Alright.” He just wanted to make sure they were still on the same page. So now that that was all cleared up, “I want to go over the…the…” Tony’s voice trailed off when something caught his eye on the table next to him. With his senses on high alert the anomaly would have been hard to miss. It was a small red dot, no, a laser dot. Tony’s eyes flashed up and flew over his managers. None of them had a laser pointer, and given the location of the dot…

Tony’s eyes widened and he threw himself out of his chair just as the window behind him shattered and the papers he had had in front of him exploded into the air as a bullet tore through them and embedded itself into the table. He grunted as screams ripped out around him and the security guards lurched forward and dove on top of him, tackling him to the ground. A little late.

Tony squirmed and resisted the urge to use his strength to throw them off. He settled instead on elbowing one of them in the side but they stayed right where they were, ignoring him completely in favor of speaking into their earpieces.

“Shot fired, sniper! Originated from the building directly east of the tower. Ironman secured. Get someone out there now!”

One of them finally turned to face him. “It’s alright, sir, we’ve got you.”

Tony snorted, his words slightly distorted with his cheek pressed up against the carpet. “I feel safer already…”

He didn’t actually. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and that wasn’t just because he had three men resting on his back. They were just human and were actually being careful about not putting too much weight on him. No, it felt more like there was an elephant on his chest and for half a second he wondered if the bullet didn’t actually hit him because something in his chest _hurt_. But, no, he had a vest on, and he hadn’t felt any impact from a bullet. Oh shit…Shit, even he couldn’t deny it any more.  Tony’s fingers dug into his palm and he gasped for air as his heart pounded and stuttered. Just keep breathing, just _breathe_.

“Sir? Sir?”

“J-just shock. The shock.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Stark, calm down and take a deep breath.”

Easier said than done.

O~O

“ _Shot fired, sniper! Originated from the building directly east of the tower. Ironman secured. Get someone out there now!_ ”

Throwing his receiver down, Steve was out of his seat before Coulson even had the time to look up from his monitor. “Let’s move!”

 Steve wrenched open the back doors to the van and leapt out, a battle calm falling over him and blocking out the rising panic in his mind. They had parked right under the window where Tony was going to have his meeting so they were already in a good position. His eyes immediately found the building the security team had mentioned and scanned up the tall façade covered in steel and glass looking for any inconsistences.

And then he saw it. Human eyes may have missed it but Steve’s certainly didn’t, the quick reflective flash as a window was quickly moved back into place on one of the middle floors. The windows weren’t designed to open and close so the fact that one of the window panes was being replaced was just too obvious to ignore.  Quickly counting up the number of floors to the window, Steve raced towards the front of the building. He had to get up to the sixteenth floor. He didn’t even wait to see if Phil was behind him, everything in his mind focused on one thought: stop whoever had tried to kill his mate.

It was a generic office building, each floor filled by a number of businesses based on the directory on the wall. But Steve bypassed it completely and ignored the secretary as she shouted some question at him. There was an elevator but he didn’t take it, knowing that if the sniper was smart he’d be more likely to take the stairs to try and avoid being seen.

He slammed the door to the staircase open so hard the concrete in the stairwell cracked where the metal handle banged into it. There were some office-goers on the lower floors and Steve only took the time to make sure he didn’t hurt them as he sprinted by them, ignoring their shouts of surprise. None of them were carrying a big enough case to hold even a disassembled high-powered rifle or had the sharp metal and sulfur scent that humans who habitually used guns had. So Steve kept running, taking the stairs two at a time as he raced up the floors.

He was on the fourteenth floor when he found him.

The man, who looked innocuous enough, was quickly walking down the steps and as his shoulder brushed past Steve’s the smell of gunpowder filled Steve’s nose. Steve immediately tensed and looked over to see that he was carrying a medium-sized case. Not long enough to fit a gun—unless you disassembled it first.

“Hey, wait! Stop!”

Steve knew he had the right guy when the man took off. Steve’s hunting instincts automatically kicked in and he turned to give chase, his pulse roaring in his ears as his gaze zeroed in on his quarry. The man was clearly in flight mode and had already made it down to the next floor but if he thought he was going to be able to outrun Steve he had another thing coming.

Grabbing the rail, Steve jumped over it and dropped down one and a half floors, landing down onto the concrete steps below in a crouch and cutting off the man’s escape path. The man was so startled that he almost fell onto his ass as he skidded to a stop. “How the fuck--? Oh shit. You’re a Shifter.”

Steve’s eyes scanned the man and again took in the case and the casual yet concealing clothes that would be exactly what a man would wear if he wanted to look inconspicuous and unrecognizable. Steve wanted to kill him. He didn’t know what condition Tony was in. They had said he was ‘secured’ but in what condition? This man could have injured his mate and all Steve wanted to do was tear into him. But he wasn’t an animal that had to be put down. He could control himself. But he couldn’t keep the low growl in his throat from slipping out as he spoke. “You’re coming with me.”

“Like hell I will!”

Steve could smell the anger and fear on him and wasn’t surprised when he spun around and ran back up the way he came towards a landing. He was reaching for the door that would have led into the main part of the office building but before he could even reach for the door handle Steve crashed into him and rammed him into the wall of the stairwell. It was a little harder than necessary but Steve didn’t feel any sympathy for the sniper as he released him and the man slumped down to the ground.

Crouching down, Steve grabbed the front of the man’s jacket and forced him into a sitting position. “Why did you try to shoot Tony Stark?”

The man was grimacing and when he coughed specks of blood flew out. He had forgotten how delicate humans really were. But he still wasn’t sorry for it. The urge to dig his claws into the man’s skin was still running hot through his veins and it took everything he had to keep his fingers buried in the man’s leather jacket instead. “I—I can’t, can’t breathe.”

“If you can talk you can breathe. Answer my question: why did you shoot Tony Stark?”

“I, I don’t know! I was paid to, it was just a job!”

“Who paid you?”

“I don’t know.” Steve snarled and tightened his grip on the man’s jacket. “I don’t know! I don’t know! I never met the guy, never saw the guy, he just sent me the job and the money! Said the other guys weren’t doing the job right so he came to me! That’s all I know, I swear!”

That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. In the back of his mind Steve caught the sound of footsteps hurrying up the stairs behind him. He had heard them for the last few minutes but only recognized what they really were when they got closer, stopped, and he felt a hand roughly grab his shoulder.  Steve growled at the unexpected contact and, without ever turning his eyes away from the sniper, scented the air to identify who was behind him. Oh, right. It was Phil. Phil had come in with him.

“Steve! Steve, let him go.” The SHIELD agent sounded worried, the anxiety in his tone the only thing that brought Steve’s focus away from the sniper enough to listen. “Let him go, Steve. I’ve got him.”

“Phil…” Steve blinked down at where his hands were curled into the fabric of the man’s jacket and the red marks blossoming on the man’s skin from the pressure Steve was putting on his neck and chest.

“Let him go.”

Steve realized he was shaking and released his fingers. The man fell to the floor in a gasping pile and Steve let Phil push him away. “The police just arrived on scene. Go to Tony. I’ll take care of things from here.”

Oh god. Shaking himself off, Steve turned and made his way back down the stairs. It was only then that he realized that five police officers had been hot on Phil’s tail and the blood ran from Steve’s face as he stepped aside to let the men run by. He knew he had almost made the biggest mistake of his life and that he owed Phil now more than ever. There was a very high chance that if he had been allowed to continue with the sniper his anger would have overwhelmed him or he would have accidentally caused the man permanent injury, or even killed him. Both would have been extremely bad, particularly with the cops so close.

His anxiety over what might have been didn’t last long though, replaced entirely with new worries over the welfare of his mate.

He had to get to Tony.

Steve ran down the rest of the way down the stairs, burst out from the building, and sprinted across the street, shoving his way past a gathering crowd and circle of policemen until he saw the doors to Stark Tower opening and Tony being herded out by a swarm of security guards.

The policemen trying to control the folks milling around tried to stop him but then a female deputy noticed him anxiously standing anxiously at the edge. Her eyes lit up in recognition and she waved for the officers around her to stand down. “He’s okay! You’re Stark’s husband?”

Steve didn’t bother to correct her with the fact that they technically weren’t married and just nodded. She had probably recognized him from the news and he had never been as grateful for the press coverage he and Tony got. “Yes, thank you.” She waved him through and Steve was off like a shot. “Tony!”

Tony’s head bobbed up as Steve called his name and began to push the security guards around him away as Steve hurried over. Steve quickly took their place, wrapping a protective arm around his mate’s shoulders as he led them to a car Happy had waiting for them.

“Just take me home.”

“Tony, you’re shaking.” Steve hadn’t seen Tony like this before and it scared him. Had he been shot after all? But Steve couldn’t see any blood.

“Home.”

“Okay. Come here.” Steve bundled him up and tucked him into the car then ducked down and slid into the space next to him, wrapping his arm back around Tony’s shoulder as soon as he was able.

O~O

Tony groaned out a protest but Steve wasn’t having it, apparently eager to hold on as tight as possible to him. He was proved right when Steve pressed a hard kiss on Tony’s forehead and nuzzled his cheek.

Tony could _smell_ Steve’s worry rolling off of him and wanted to comfort him but his chest was still aching, pains shooting through his upper body like small electric shocks, and he felt like he might throw up. In fact it was all he could do to not vomit all over Steve. He didn’t know if the nausea was a symptom or a mental reaction to the terror that was building in his gut. The sensation of Steve’s arm wrapped around his shoulders helped, kept him from spiraling completely into a blind panic. Just barely.

“Tony…”

He could tell a question was on the tip of Steve’s tongue but cut him off before he could ask it. “You get him? The guy who took a shot at me?”

Steve nodded and pressed their foreheads together as if wanting to press as close to Tony as he was physically able. Meanwhile Happy started the car up and carefully pulled away, making sure not to run over the mob of people who had gathered around to see what all the noise was about. “Yeah, I chased him down. Phil has him now and the police were on their way when I left. Hopefully we’ll get some answers soon.”

“Good. This is getting old.”

“For you and me both.” Steve’s arms tightened around him. “I had trouble controlling myself when I caught the sniper. I might have really hurt him if Phil hadn’t been there.”

Tony couldn’t help but smile even though he knew what the consequences would be if Steve had actually injured the man. “I can’t say I would’ve minded but it’s probably better that he stopped you. There’s going to be a media firestorm after this anyway but that would have made it even worse.”

“…I’m glad I made you wear the vest.”

Tony really did smile at that although it still felt forced. His chest was still hurting like a son of a bitch. “I’m glad you made me wear the vest too…Although he was aiming for my head, which wasn’t protected. So, you know, it wouldn’t have done much good then.”

Steve shook his head and pressed a kiss against the corner of Tony’s mouth. It was sweet with an edge of desperation and it was enough to keep both of them quiet for the rest of the ride home.

When they got back to the manor they were the only ones home. Even Peter was still in school which suited Tony just fine as he stumbled up to their bedroom. Steve followed him the whole way and kept one hand firmly on Tony’s waist as he let him lead the way. They only separated when Tony pushed away from him and made his way to the en suite bathroom.

After making sure that Steve was going to stay outside, Tony shut and locked the door behind him then threw open the medicine cabinet and dug through it. He had filled it with a bunch of crap since Shifters usually didn’t need to take any kind of medication but he had always been fucking special, hadn’t he? There was no drinking this away.

His fingers had starting shaking again by the time they closed around a small pill bottle in the back and it took him a moment longer than it should have for him to unscrew the child-safe cap. Before he could second-guess himself, he slid two of the pills into his palm and swallowed them dry, gripping the edge of the marble counter to steady himself as he felt them slip down his throat. His chin jerked up and he stared at his own face in the mirror, cursing under his breath at the white pallor of his skin and the sweat beading up on his forehead.

Tearing his gaze away, Tony’s eyes landed instead on the pill bottle. Clopidogrel. He hadn’t ever wanted to touch this damn bottle again but after that last little display he couldn’t deny that it felt like a heart attack. But what the hell did he know? He had a new heart now; he hadn’t had any problems in almost twenty years. The symptoms, they could easily be shock. Small panic attacks.

It was just situational.

It would pass.

There were a millions different ways to rationalize it. Hundreds of different things it could be besides the terrifying idea that his heart was going to give out on him again. So he would go with those. He would go with the other options because he had to.

He lingered in the bathroom for one more minute but when he found himself avoiding looking into the mirror entirely he knew that it was time to leave. So he unlocked the door and cautiously slid it open. Just as he suspected Steve was right on the other side of the door looking for all the world like he had been about to break it down. His hands immediately went to grab onto Tony’s shoulders and he ran his palms up and down Tony’s arms. “Are you alright?”

Jerking his head down in a tight nod, Tony swallowed, his voice thick in his throat. “Yeah. Nothing you need to worry about.” Tony closed his eyes and leaned into his mate’s touch as Steve tenderly ran his fingers up to his shoulders again then back through Tony’s sweaty hair and down to his neck.

“Of course I’m going to worry about you…” Steve brought one hand to rest against Tony’s cheek and ran his thumb across his cheekbone before letting out a small tisk and gently tugging Tony towards the bed. “Here, sit.”

“Don’t baby me.” That was the last thing Tony needed right now, to feel even more pathetic than he already did.

“I’m not. You really look like you’re about to collapse.” Finding himself unable to argue, Tony grudgingly obliged and let Steve sit him down on the edge of their bed. He wasn’t ready for Steve to kneel down in front of him though and rest his hands on Tony’s thighs. The Wolf’s voice had gentled into a soothing tone, like he was trying to calm a spooked deer. “Tony. Tony, you’re hiding something from me.”

Hell yes he was. “Can we just…not talk about it tonight? Is that too much to ask for? Considering my day, I think that’s reasonable, don’t you?”

Tony’s words seemed to hit a raw nerve because Steve brows pinched together and he nodded after just half a minute. “You’ll tell me eventually.” It wasn’t so much a question as a statement.

Tony really hoped he would never have to, but with the way his luck went, “Yeah. I’m sure you’ll hear about it eventually.” Hopefully not from a coroner but—No. Tony shook his head. His bad heart hadn’t killed him yet and it wasn’t about to after all this time. “Listen, Steve, I’m tired, okay?” And he really, really was. He was emotionally wiped from almost getting shot in the back of the head and then hearing that Steve had caught the guy and he was freaked the fuck out by the realization that his heart might not be as strong as he had thought. He just wanted to close his eyes, wake up the next morning, and find out that the last three months had all been a weird nightmare.

“Then you should sleep.”

Yeah, that’s what Tony was trying to get at but—oh. Tony’s mind cut off as Steve stood, kicked off his shoes, then climbed beside Tony to lay down in his usual spot on the bed. “Uh, you know that ‘I’ and ‘you’ are separate things, right? Just because I want to rest doesn’t mean you have to.”

Steve attempted to smile as Tony crawled up the bed and nearly collapsed next to Steve. “I know. But I want to. I want to be here.”

Tony snorted. “Right. Whatever, it’s your bed too I guess.”

Despite how much he wanted to stay up and convince Steve that he was being an overprotective idiot he felt his eyelids start to grow heavier. The warmth and security from having his mate next to him was lulling him further into unconsciousness. Tony hummed as Steve kissed the back of his neck and curled over his mate. “Go to sleep, Tony. I’ll watch over you.”

He growled low under his breath. He didn’t want to be watched over. And he was even more upset by how damn comforting it was to know that Steve would stay up and make sure that he was alright. “...don’t need you to…”

He closed his eyes and exhaustion threatened to knock to him out. He was so tired. Steve’s arms tightened around Tony’s waist and he nestled his face into the crook of Tony’s neck. “I will anyway.”

O~O~O~O

Tony furrowed his brow as he woke up, the quiet was broken by his phone ringing. He tried to ignore it but it just kept ringing. And ringing. And finally it was just too damn annoying for him to ignore anymore. Rolling over, he pawed blindly towards the nightstand. A moment later a larger hand rested on top of his, stilling his movements, before a second hand pressed his phone into Tony’s palm.

“Here.”

Tony grunted in thanks and pulled the phone to his ear. “Hello?” He had no idea what time it was and couldn’t even scrape up the energy to open his eyes and check the clock or see how much light was coming through the windows. So instead he rolled back over and pulled a pillow over half of his face.

“ _Tony, it’s Pepper. I wanted to make sure you’re okay._ _I was waiting to hear from you but then you never called so I started to get worried and—_ “

“Hey, slow down. Sorry to worry you.” And Tony truly was. He knew how much Pepper cared about him and he could only guess what sort of stress she had been under for the last few hours. “I’m fine. I was just taking a nap.” To try and sleep off the lingering pain in his chest. But he wasn’t going to tell her that.

“ _What happened with the sniper? I called the police but they wouldn’t tell me anything_.”

Tony couldn’t help but smile at the idea of anyone denying Pepper anything. She could be a force to be reckoned with when she wanted something and he was sure that she put whatever officer she had communicated with through the ringer. “Steve apparently chased him down.” The mattress dipped as Steve sat down next to him and began to run a hand up and down his back. It felt nice and Tony closed his eyes and arched his back into Steve’s touch. “I don’t know all the details myself but I guess the police have him now, so for the moment it’s not my problem.”

He could hear the frown in her voice. “ _Tony, it is still your problem!_ ”

“Can’t I just have a break? _One_ night of not thinking about someone trying to kill me?” Tony had been trying to joke but some of his real desperation to pretend like everything was alright must have leaked through into his voice. Steve’s hand paused on his back and then Tony felt the mattress dip again as Steve leaned forward to wrap his arm around his waist, his hand reaching up to press against Tony’s chest.

The solid heat and weight against his back were enough to calm Tony back down but it was the way Steve’s hand was pressed against him, the way that his fingers seemed to spread across the entire center of his chest and the gentle pressure of his palm on Tony’s skin that really soothed him. It felt like Steve was holding his heart in. He must have done it subconsciously but all Tony wanted to do now was curl up and go back to sleep. Whatever silent plea had been in Tony’s voice hadn’t been lost on Pepper either. When she spoke next her tone had softened. “ _I just want you to finally accept that this is serious. But it sounds like I don’t have to try and convince you of that anymore._ ”

She never really had to. But she hadn’t known that. “Yeah. I got it.”

“ _Okay, well…_ ” He heard Pepper sigh and he knew that all the fight had left her. She probably hadn’t expected him to give in like that. “ _I’m just glad that you’re alright. You should get some more rest._ ”

“Sounds good.”

“ _Don’t worry about work. I’ll take care of everything for the next week or two, however long it takes for you to get back on your feet_.”

Wow. She was actually offering to do his job for him this time. She must have been even more worried about him than he had initially thought. “I wouldn’t be able to work even if I wanted to. I’m pretty sure Steve is going to tie me to the bed if I try to leave. And not in the fun way.”

“ _Good. Then he, Coulson, and I are on the same page._ ”

“Coulson?” What did he have to do with it?

“ _I called him before I called the police_.”

“Why?”

“ _Because unlike you, and the police, he will actually tell me things if it means keeping you safe._ ”

“Great…”

“ _You sound tired._ ” She wasn’t wrong. Tony didn’t know how many hours of rest he had gotten but it felt like he could still use about a dozen more. “ _I’m going to let you go. Stay safe._ ”

“Sure. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“ _Good night, Tony.”_

O~O~O~O

It turned out that Tony had slept for fourteen hours and by the time he made it out of bed it was late morning the day after the sniper had taken his shot and Tony was more than a little disoriented. Worse was the ache that still remained in his chest.

And that had been the last time he had slept.

It had been three days now. Three very rough days.

Tony wasn’t scared of whatever assassins might still be after him, he was afraid that their next attempt might startle him enough that his heart would blow. Every time he felt his pulse begin to speed up he was worried that he would die. He was scared of being too happy, of being too worried. He was scared to fucking sleep because he didn’t know if he’d wake back up again. But he was the most afraid that someone would notice. That someone in the pack would figure it out and then there would be doctor’s visits and suddenly it would all be _real_. Though maybe he could start running some tests of his own down in the workshop to try and gauge how bad it was. And to find out how much time he had left.

He was heading down to the basement when he was waylaid by Peter. The young Wolf nearly jumped onto him and Tony felt a stab of guilt at the broad grin on Peter’s face at seeing Tony out of his room. He hadn’t made the time he should have for his son. But at least Peter didn’t seem to hold anything against him.

“Hey, Dad! Do you want to come outside? Pop and I figured out how to spin a big enough web to sit on. It’s pretty cool.”

Well, the shop could wait for a couple more minutes. Tony was fully aware of that fact that once he got down there he was likely not to resurface for another few days so figured he owed Peter a bit of time. “Sure, sport.”

Peter’s grin widened and he pulled himself away from Tony and grabbed his hand. Wary of moving too quickly, Tony dragged his heels as they went out to the backyard. Tony glanced around as they walked out onto the deck. “Show me what you got.”

Releasing Tony’s hand, Peter bounced onto the lawn and ran over to the edge of the grass where three trees were standing close to each other. “Here, look!” Tony did, sticking his hands in his pockets as he strolled across the lawn. He couldn’t figure out what Peter was so excited about until he drew a bit closer and the light changed. Peter’s grin softened and grew shy when he realized Tony had spotted it. “Do you like it?”

The web was huge, about twice the size of a regular hammock and hanging at a forty-five degree angle. But more than its size, what really amazed Tony was it complexity. The webbing was thicker than you would find in a regular spider’s web, and a bit thicker even than what he had seen Natasha use, but the strings still looked delicate and were arranged in an intricate pattern radiating out from a center point. And Peter had made it. A swell of pride welled up in Tony’s chest and he moved in to get a closer look. “It’s something alright. You’re getting pretty good.”

Peter looked like someone had just told him Christmas had come early. “Natasha showed me how to spin small webs and then Pop and I worked out how to make them big. Try sitting on it!”

“I don’t know.” It looked like he would go right through it and he wasn’t eager to ruin all the work Peter had put into it. That, and he wasn’t really looking forward to sitting on it, falling through, and landing hard on the ground beneath it. A jolt like that didn’t seem like it’d do his already aching body any good.

“Go ahead! It held Pop up.”

Tony raised a brow. He wasn’t _that_ much smaller than Steve but Steve definitely had a couple of pounds on him. Assuming Steve sitting on it hadn’t compromised its structural integrity it should be able to hold him. And Peter seemed really excited about this. “So, should I just sit on the edge or what?”

“Just jump right in the middle, like this!” Peter backed up a few steps then launched himself at the web. The fibers stretched as he hit then bounced back but Peter stuck tight to the web and peered expectantly up at Tony. “You’ll probably stick though, so try and land on your back.”

“Alright.” Seemed simple enough. “Here goes nothing.” Gauging the distance, Tony took three steps back then jumped, letting his spine twist midair so that by the time he hit the web he hit it butt first. His heart lurched awkwardly in his chest but he kept it together as he landed right beside Peter and the web flexed under his weight then snapped back into place. When the fibers finally stopped vibrating he tried to adjust his arms and found that said appendages were stuck tight. “Well you’re right, it’s sticky.”

Peter laughed, a happy, nonjudgmental sound that Tony loved to hear. The engineer in him couldn’t help but be impressed by the weight capacity of the delicate strands beneath him. “How much weight can this hold?”

Peter looked around and Tony saw the Wolf’s own mind working as he assessed the web strands. “I’m not sure yet. Whatever Pop weighs, plus some. I was thinking maybe we could work on it down in your workshop and figure it out. I mean, if you have the time.”

Tony tried not to get choked up at that. “Sure. That sounds great.” He hoped he _would_ have the time. As Peter grew older he was showing more interest in science and testing scientific hypotheses and Tony really couldn’t have been prouder. He had to wonder if Howard had ever felt that way about him.

Peter nodded and they fell silent for a while. And it was actually relaxing, just laying back and looking out over the backyard and up at the sky. It was a nice day, blue sky with a couple of clouds. It had been a while since Tony had spent any significant time outside. And it was nice just to be next to Peter for a minute. Tony loved his scent:  it was a little bit him, a little bit Steve, a little bit Pack, and Peter’s own unique smell that had grown to mean everything to them.

“Hey, Dad…?”

“Hmm?”

Peter bit his lip and glanced over at him. “This stuff that’s going on, the person who’s after you…is it really bad? I read the story online but no one here tells me anything about it but it sounded bad…”

And there went the peace and quiet. But Tony knew he had to put the kid’s fear at ease. He didn’t want him having nightmares or anything over this. But at the same point he didn’t want to lie. “I don’t know what you read, Pete, but believe me when I say that we’re all doing everything we can to get that guy. And the whole pack is in on it now so you know it won’t be long until it’s over. Your Pop, Clint, Thor, and Natasha, they’re the best there are at what they do. They’ll take care of it.”

“And you’re going to be okay?”

“Everything will work out.” It was a non-answer but as long as Peter didn’t realize that it would be alright. But that was a good reminder that Tony should probably get to work. “Now how am I supposed to get out of this thing?”

“Uh…”

That wasn’t a promising sound. Tony looked over at Peter with one brow quirked up. “Hadn’t thought that one through, huh? Well how did your Pop get out?”

Peter shrugged apologetically. “Clint came by and cut him out.”

Clint had reported to SHIELD about two hours ago. “Awesome…”

“Sorry.”

Seeing Peter’s expression fall, Tony shook his head. “Well, there are definitely worse people to be stuck with in a giant spider web. And I’m sure someone will come check on us soon.” With the way Tony was still being watched it was almost guaranteed. “In the meantime though, tell me a little about what’s going on with you. How’s school?”

They passed probably about an hour that way. Tony couldn’t be sure because he couldn’t reach his phone in his pocket but it felt like an hour. As he had suspected though, before long Thor emerged from back of the house and it didn’t take the Lion long to figure out where they were.

 

The large blond had a huge smile on his face as he bounded over to them. “I see you have fallen into quite a dire circumstance!” 

Tony rolled his eyes and tried to sit up but, no, he was still stuck fast. “Laugh it up, Simba.”

“Do you require assistance freeing yourselves?”

Before Tony could respond, Peter answered back. Answered back as he leaned up and scooted down to the edge of the web. “I can get out but you need to cut the web around my Dad.”

Tony blinked in surprise and tried to move but it he couldn’t budge an inch. “You could get out?”

Peter nodded and hopped off onto the ground as Thor moved around to the back of the web to inspect it. “Yeah. I can climb on the web.”

Tony still didn’t get it. “Why didn’t you leave?”

Peter looked up like it was the simplest thing in the world. “I wanted to stay here.”

“You could’ve gone for help.”

“But then we wouldn’t have talked.”

Huh. “I guess not.”

Before he could think too long on the subject he felt Thor pluck at the webbing behind him. “I shall fetch a knife from Natasha’s room and will cut you down in no time, my friend!”

“Take your time.”

Luckily Thor didn’t take his time and once he had found a knife made short work of cutting Tony out of his sticky prison. Tony had been worried that Peter would be upset to see his web destroyed but he simply watched and chatted as Thor worked. After his feet were back on the ground Tony thanked Thor, gave Peter a quick hug, and then went back into the house. After changing into new pants and a new shirt—and tossing the webbed set into the garbage before Steve could see—Tony finally headed down to his shop. When he got inside he made sure to lock the shop up tight. He didn’t want anyone stumbling across this project.

Tony got to work building a heart monitor from scrap parts lying around. It took a little bit of trial and error but it was simple enough in theory, especially in comparison to other machines Tony had built, so it didn’t take him too long to figure out. It would have taken a lot less time if he had called Bruce but didn’t want the Beta to know what he was up to because it wouldn’t take him long to connect the dots.

Soon Tony had a fully-functional heart monitor personalized to his needs and strapped it on. “Are you getting a reading, J?”

“ _Yes Sir. Your heart rate appears to fall within the normal range for a Shifter your age and with your activity levels_.”

“Okay. Okay, that’s good. Heart rate normal…” That was tentatively good news. Was it possible that it really was all in his head? “Start recording a detailed analysis on heart rate and any irregularities in rhythm. Make a note that I am now injecting tracers into my arm…”

He should probably run it through some more strenuous tests but hypothetically it shouldn’t do any permanent damage. The tracers would let JARVIS track the blood flow in his body and only had half a chance at leaving any sort of chemical by-product in his system. Pulling the cap off of the needle with his teeth, Tony pressed down on his arm until he could clearly see a vein, stabbed the needle into it, and injected the tracers into his bloodstream. “Ah, shit. Burns a bit…There we go.” Tony flexed his fingers and watched as a darker stain slipped through his veins surrounding the injection site. “Can you get that on your scanners?”

“ _Yes Sir_.”

“Great. Track it as it runs through my system. I want to know about any blockage.”

A holographic image of his bloodstream appeared in the center of the room, JARVIS marking the blood where he was able to identify the tracers in white. “ _It will take a few moments_.”

“Yeah. I figured.” It would take a bit for his blood to circulate through his body. Flexing his hand again, Tony watched the tracers spread, faintly visible beneath his skin. It was easier to see on the hologram.

But this was it. He was going to find out what was going on.

Fear curled cold in the bottom of his stomach and, after another minute, Tony turned and picked the tablet he had sitting on his desk. “JARVIS…Start a new document file for me on my private server. If…anything happens to me, email it to Pepper.”

“ _Very well, Sir. What would you like the file name to be?_ ”

 “…’Last Will and Testament’.”

There was an unusually long pause before the AI spoke again. “ _You don’t seem to be in good health, mentally or physically. Perhaps I could call Dr. Banner instead—_ “

“Thanks, J, but I don’t need your advice right now, okay? Just open the file onto my pad.”

All of his physical property, including the house and all of his possessions, along with whatever he had in the bank and in stocks was going to Steve Rogers. A steady percentage of the company’s earnings would be put towards charitable donations. And ownership over Stark Industries would go to Peter Parker, to be run until Peter was of age by Pepper Potts. Along with the company, Peter would receive the rights to all of Tony’s inventions and creations, including those not yet fully developed, whatever he had written down on scraps in the workshop, and in files on the network…

Tony paused as he typed. That was a lot to put on Peter, a lot for a boy his age to carry. But Tony didn’t doubt that he could do it. Peter was naturally smart and Tony hadn’t always been a great parent but he had made sure to help Peter nurture that intellect. He would never be a Stark or have the same level of engineering ingenuity either Tony or Howard had but he was the best person Tony could think of to carry on the Stark family legacy…

Tony saved and closed the document then tossed the Stark pad back onto the desk. He couldn’t do this now. “How are we doing on that scan, J?”

“ _Sir, my scanners are picking up some irregularities—_ “

Shit, shit, _shit_. “Cancel the scan. Stop the test.”

“ _Perhaps you should—_ “

“No, nope. Just, forget about it.” Tony clawed at his arm where he had injected the tracers into his veins and wished that he could suck them back out. But he didn’t want to do this anymore. He would run the tests later. Or never. Never was good.

Tearing the heart monitor off, he scrambled to shove all the equipment back in the right drawers and on the right shelves. What the hell was he doing? And what the hell was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to go through this again. He shouldn’t have to! Wasn’t doing this as a kid enough? Hadn’t he paid his dues?

But no, fuck that. This wasn’t going to be like things were when he was a kid. He was an alpha, god dammit! A powerful one at that, and he wasn’t going to be coddled anymore, even by himself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Sorry this one took a bit longer to put out; I’ve got a whole bunch of little things going on in the real world that makes it hard to find the time to work the chapter out. But I’m trying! T^T That being said, thank you to all of those who commented for the last chapter! It’s you guys who really keep me going. :)
> 
> PS: Part of the reason I took a little longer with this was because I added a bonus one shot to this Shifter!universe focusing on Erik and Charles! Check it out! http://archiveofourown.org/works/1256275

When Tony emerged from his workshop he found Steve waiting for him in the living room. He glanced at his watch and found that it was only five in the morning. Huh. He hadn’t meant to stay down there that long. And it meant that Steve had either woken up early or never gone to bed.

Absently rubbing at the injection mark on his arm, Tony wandered into the room. “Hey. What are you doing up?”

Steve, who had been blankly watching an early morning news program, looked over at him and they had spent enough time together that Tony knew that carefully constructed expression of neutrality on his face was just that, constructed. There was something going on beneath that façade that Steve wasn’t letting him see but Tony was pretty sure he already knew what it was.

“What were you doing down in the shop?”

Tony flopped down onto the couch with a scowl. “For shit’s sake, Steve, you’ve already got me on house arrest, I don’t need to be under constant watch too. I’ll be fine.”

He saw irritation flash through the Wolf’s eyes. “It’s not house arrest—“

“Isn’t it? Between you, Coulson, and Pepper I might as well have a tracking anklet strapped on my leg.” And it was true. Although everyone had been giving him some space over the last few days it was obvious to him that he had been constantly under observation. He knew it was for his own personal protection and safety and whatever but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been any less stifling. Living in such close contact with the Pack was bad enough on a normal day, this was just getting unbearable. Though not quite bad enough for him to go running off. Not now, not in the state he was in.

Steve didn’t try to deny anything. Reaching over, Steve grabbed the remote, turned the TV off, and gave Tony his full attention. “Until we get this all sorted out we just want you to be safe.”

Yeah, Tony knew that. But it didn’t prove him wrong. “Can I go out for food?”

“Wait until Bruce gets back. He can go with you.”

“House arrest! I’m pretty sure I’m owed a call to my lawyer.”

Steve just stared down at him with an unamused expression, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you done?” Tony heaved a heavy sigh and leaned his head back over the back of the couch. He knew that voice. It meant he was about to get chewed out. There were few things he hated more in the world and he wasn’t really in the mood for it right now. “I’m not going to play this game with you, Tony, not today. You almost died three times and we’ve finally got a lead on who’s after you.”

“I noticed.”

That didn’t seem to comfort Steve. In fact it had the opposite affect and made him furrow his brow, his eyes growing dark. “From the start you’ve done nothing but crack jokes. What is it going to take to make you take this seriously?”

Tony rolled his head around so that he could actually see Steve’s face. It was a necessary evil if Tony wanted to glare at him. “Look, they tried three times, they failed three times. Obviously they suck.”

“Tony—“

“ _Don’t_ interrupt me. But more than that, if by some miracle they do manage to land a hit and I die, well, then maybe it’s just my time to go.”

Tony was expecting a response but not quite as violent as Steve launching himself at Tony. He nearly knocked the couch over as he slammed his hands down on either side of Tony’s head, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes hard as steel . The sudden movement made Tony flinch back and a snarl instinctually rolled up from his chest at being caged in as Steve spoke. “Never, _ever_ say anything like that again.”

The snarl died away at his mate’s tone, harsh, desperate, and sounding just as strung out as Tony had felt for the last few days. “Steve…”

“No, _you listen to me_.”  There was a low growl in Steve’s voice and it was all alpha command. “You are too strong, worth too much to ever think that way!”

Tony swallowed and stared up at the Wolf with wide eyes. What was he supposed to say to that? Steve’s face crumbled and he collapsed forward, his forehead pressing against Tony’s. All of the steel in his blue eyes fell away to reveal such a heart-broken look that all Tony wanted to do was pull Steve close and hold him. “I’m not ready to let you go.”

Giving in to his instincts, Tony wrapped his arms around Steve’s broad shoulders and pulled him forward against his chest. “Hey, hey. It’s alright. I, I shouldn’t have said it like that.” And now he felt like an ass. It wasn’t a new sensation for him but this time it involved Steve so the guilt hit harder than usual.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, his nose brushing up against Tony’s cheekbone. “I’ve been trying to stay calm but this whole thing is just…it’s eating me up inside, Tony. And for the last few days it has almost seemed like you don’t care anymore, like you’ve giving up, and it’s killing me.”

Tony sighed and tightened his arm around his mate’s shoulders. Maybe part of him had given up. Because maybe he could feel his life ticking away with every stuttering heartbeat. Maybe it’d be easier to go out with his boots on, as a martyr, as something fucking special rather than just another person knocked down by cardiac arrest. Tony cursed then closed his own eyes and pressed a tight-lipped kiss on Steve’s neck, holding himself there so that he could breathe his mate’s scent in deep. “I won’t.” He was definitely an asshole. He had thrown up the white flag and left Steve to fight his battle for him. But not anymore. It didn’t matter if it was an assassin or his heart, Tony was going to do everything he could to keep life from killing him just a little longer. If not for himself then for Steve. “I haven’t given up, Steve. And I won’t.”

 “Will you at least tell me what is going on?” Steve pulled away, his hands sliding down to grab onto Tony’s shoulders, holding him tight enough to bruise. “Tell me what’s wrong. Let me help, Tony.”

“You can’t help, Steve. Not with this. But I’m dealing with it.”

Biting back a snarl, Steve looked away. He hated this. He hated how, out of everyone, Tony was the one person who he couldn’t help. He couldn’t help his mate and every alpha instinct he had was tearing him apart inside.

O~O~O~O

Steve watched Tony and Peter in the yard from the house. Tony had brought out some sort of analytical equipment and they were testing Pete’s webbing. While it was heartwarming that warmth couldn’t penetrate the cold that had gripped him inside ever since he had brought Tony home from the sniper incident.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the house phone ring. He knew it wasn’t for Tony—anyone calling for Tony just called his personal cell phone—so he pulled himself away from the window and went to go pick it up.

As he suspected, the call was for him. “Hello?”

“ _Hello, Steve. This is Phil. We have work for you_.”

Steve closed his eyes then reopened them with a sigh and wandered back over to the window, cradling the wireless phone against his shoulder as he looked out at Tony and Peter again. He had been afraid that this was coming. He had been doing his best to delay or postpone missions, or at the most to send Natasha, Clint, or Thor out to handle whatever it was. It had worked so far but he knew it wasn’t going to last forever. “This isn’t a good time, Phil.”

He heard the man sigh. “ _I know but unfortunately this isn’t something we can put off any longer._ ”

“Is it at least a short job?”

Phil hesitated and Steve heard him flipping through some paper, probably the mission file, before coming back with an answer. “ _It shouldn’t take any longer than four days. Probably less for you. But it’s close, just the next state over.”_

“Four days…” Before all of this started, before Tony’s life was first threatened when that bomb was delivered to his office, four days would be a great length. But now just imagining leaving Tony alone for that long seemed like an eternity. For the past few weeks he had felt the need to always be on watch, to keep an eye and ear out for everything and anything that came near his mate to make sure that nothing was a threat. He knew that if he left Tony wouldn’t be completely alone. Some of the others were sure to stick around, Bruce at the very least. But Bruce worked. There would be times when he wouldn’t be able to be there and Tony would be left unguarded. And as much as Steve knew that Tony would watch out for himself it wasn’t enough.

Phil seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. The man always had been good about reading people. “ _How’s Tony?”_

That was a good question. Steve eyed Tony as he crouched down beside Peter on the grass to get a close-up look at Peter’s web. He looked normal but Steve knew that it was partly a façade. “He’s hanging in there.”

“ _That good, huh?_ ”

Again, Phil was very good at reading people. “We had a little rough patch but things are better now. Although I think he’s keeping something from me.”

“ _What kind of ‘something’?”_  He wondered if Phil was personally concerned or if he was he was asking from a professional stand-point. Maybe both. He was good at doing both simultaneously.

“I don’t know, and that’s the problem.” Tony wouldn’t tell him. That itself wasn’t unusual but there was something almost haunted in his eyes now and that’s what chilled Steve to his core.

“ _I suppose all you can hope for is that he’ll tell you when he’s ready._ ”

“Yeah…” But Steve had the sinking feeling that Tony would only be ready when it was too late. Physically shaking his head to rid himself of those kinds of thoughts, Steve turned his attention back to a problem that he could actually solve: the upcoming mission.“Phil, can you send me the files? Email is fine. I’d like a chance to read through them and pass them along to the rest of the pack.”

“ _Of course. I’ll get those out now. I’ll also reserve your standard set of gear and have a vehicle for you to use delivered to your location for your use. When do you think you’ll be able to leave?”_

Steve could hear the man typing in the background. He knew the answer he should give. He should say ‘as soon as possible’. Technically he could put a bag together, change, and gather up the correct members of his pack within an hour of reading through the mission file. “I can head out tonight by six, eighteen-hundred hours.”

There was a slight pause as if Phil was about to automatically snap back to make it sooner but the agent hesitated before letting out a light hum. “ _Alright. I’ll have the car and gear ready for you_.”

Giving a half-hearted ‘thank you’, Steve hung up. Then he made his way to the study where he knew Tony had put his tablet down. He needed to review those files and decide who he needed to bring with him and start planning out his strategy for how to handle the mission. If he worked quickly, he might even be able to spend some time with Tony and Peter before he left.

As promised Phil had the documents emailed to him within minutes and he spent the next half hour carefully reading through it, taking notes on a pad of paper he scrounged up for later. He could see why SHIELD wasn’t able to put this off. A Wolf had gone wild after the natural death of her mate and needed to be contained before she harmed herself or others around her. Her family had been trying to take care of the situation, to keep her contained, but last night she had escaped and, worried she might hurt someone, they contacted SHIELD.  If he brought Clint, Natasha, and Thor they would quickly be able to search over a wide area and there was a possibility that they could finish early. So that’s what they would do.

He called a meeting and thankfully everyone was at home—or, more correctly, on the property—so it didn’t take long to assemble his team around the dining room table turned conference table. They had worked so long as a team now that they easily started to come up with a plan of attack. In the past they had handled cases similar to this one so they already had a general strategy outlined. After that they just had to talk out the details and who would be in charge of managing which aspects of the case.

But time rushed by and despite Steve’s best efforts by the time they had wrapped up their talks Tony had disappeared down into his workshop and Peter had curled up in a chair in the media room and was working on his homework. It hurt, but Steve told himself that there was nothing he could have done; he couldn’t have cut their debriefing short, possibly jeopardizing not just the mission but his pack’s safety during the mission, to spend time with his family. When he came back he would make sure that he made time for them.

Knowing that time was starting to run short, Steve hurried up to his room to pack a small bag for the trip. He wouldn’t need much, not if Phil had the van he was going to drop off stocked with the standard supplies. He was about halfway done when he realized he was about to get a much appreciated visitor.

Steve smelled Tony coming up the hall before he heard the sound of his footsteps padding towards their bedroom. He glanced over at the Cat and offered him a small, tight smile as Tony closed the door behind him and casually leaned up against it. “So this is where you snuck off to. I was wondering where my stalker went.” Tony fell silent for a moment and Steve could feel that Cat’s eyes on him as he pulled out a spare change of street clothes out of the closet. “You’re getting shipped out again?”

He ignored the ‘stalker’ comment. He knew Tony had been feeling caged in, he wasn’t very subtle about that. “Yeah, another mission came in. And I wouldn’t say shipped out. It’ll just be four, five hours away.”

“That’s too long a drive to make every night.”

“You’re right.” It seemed like a simple exchange but Steve knew it went far deeper. It meant that he was going to have to leave Tony and put a hold on the vigil he had been keeping over his mate.

Tony, of course, smirked, and he pushed off of the door to stroll over to Steve. “Let me get this straight, do you actually think I’m capable of taking care of myself? Miracles do happen!”

“Stop it, Tony. You know that’s not how I think.”              

Tony snorted but actually stopped and Steve wondered to himself what his silence might mean. Tony had never been one to back down from an argument. Finally Tony spoke up after Steve had remained still for too long. “Did you forget how to pack a bag? I’ll give you a hint: the clothes you’re holding go inside it.”

Growling, Steve moved again and shoved the shirt in his hands into the bottom of his bag. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“And we’re back to this. You’ve successfully brought our conversation full circle back to our last one.”

Steve frowned and turned back around to face the Cat. “It wasn’t my intention. I don’t mean to keep bringing it up but it’s not exactly easy for me to push aside.  I’m still worried about you and, honestly, nothing about your behavior over the last few days has changed that.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “As heartfelt as I assume that sentiment was meant to be, my position hasn’t changed. I. Will. Be. Fine. I’ll be here, at home, most likely sprawled out on our very comfortable bed watching TV or surfing the web. If I need anything JARVIS will be here and if all else fails Peter will be here too.  And Bruce, I guess, when he’s not at work. I’m going to have a small army of babysitters to take over your psychotic overprotectiveness for the week.”

“Fine, alright.” He was willing to concede victory to Tony if it meant that their last words to each other before he left wouldn’t be snarky asides. Sighing, Steve set his bag down and walked over to Tony. Resting his hands on his mate’s shoulders, he slid them up his neck and cupped Tony’s face in his hands. “I’m going to miss you.”

The corner of Tony’s lips curled up in a dry smile. “You say that every time you leave.”

“That doesn’t make it any less true.” Leaning in, he placed an unusually gentle kiss at the corner of Tony’s lips. Tony let out a light grunt then reached up to grip Steve’s arm, giving his bicep a tight squeeze as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. There was a strange look in his mate’s eyes as Steve pulled away, his gaze darting across Tony’s face to try and look for any other clues to help him place it. Whatever it was, it wasn’t positive and it was honestly the last thing Steve wanted to see before he left the Cat for half a week. But he had to go. “I’m going to call every night and you’d better answer.”

Tony snorted and it was almost worth hearing his condescension just to see a spark of humor come back into his eyes. “Or what? What are you going to do, big dog?”

“Whatever I have to.”

Tony’s smile grew. “That’s open ended.”

Steve smiled back, his thumb brushed across Tony’s cheek before he shook his head. “Nothing is more important to me than you, Peter, and the pack. Remember that.”

“I know.” Steve opened his mouth to argue, that, no, Tony _didn’t_ know. But then Tony squeezed his arm again and he looked back at the Cat’s face to find Tony staring back at him. “I know, Steve.”

And in that moment Steve could tell that he truly did.

O~O~O~O

Day one without Steve was alright. Tony and Peter convinced Bruce to hang out and they blew stuff up in the lab for six hours. Tony had grown more comfortable with loud noises and being startled, satisfied that they wouldn’t instantly cause him to keel over and die. That, and he had also reached the decision that there was no point in living at all if he didn’t occasionally enjoy himself. In the end it was probably a good thing that Bruce had stayed behind too though because otherwise either Tony or, worse, Peter probably would have ended up with third-degree burns.

Day two was a lot more boring. It was Monday so Peter was at school and Bruce left for the SHIELD labs before Tony even woke up. That had given him all day in his workshop, blessedly alone for once, to work on projects. He had thought about strapping his heart monitor back on but then had been distracted by re-engineering the thrusters on a new jet design he was developing. He’d get on it tomorrow. Maybe.

Day three started out much the same except Tony was awake when Bruce left. Mostly because Tony hadn’t gone to bed the night before. They bumped into each other in the kitchen as they both were hunting for coffee and it might have been Tony’s sleep-deprived imagination but Bruce seemed to look him over extra hard, the scientist’s eyes narrowing behind his glasses.  “Tony, are you sure you’re going to be alright while I’m away today?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Yes, dear!”

Bruce was so concerned he didn’t even look exasperated. “I mean it. Steve asked me to look after you while he was away and I’d be really grateful if you cooperated.”

Leaning onto the counter Tony gave Bruce his most unimpressed look. As far as he was concerned he _had_ been cooperating. He was behaving extremely well, in fact, considering everything he could be doing. But he was feeling particularly shitty today and he didn’t feel up to fighting about it. “And how would I do that?”

Bruce raised a brow then counted off on his fingers, “Don’t sneak out of the house, don’t answer the door, and try to stay inside.”

“Oh my god, did Steve make you a _list_?”

“Not necessarily. Tony—“

That wasn’t a ‘no’. “Bruce, look at me. Hey, “ he waited until the beta had met his eyes before continuing, “it’s me. Tony fucking Stark. Alpha. CEO. Genius. I think I can manage not to get shot or blown up for eight hours.”

“That’s,” Bruce furrowed his brow, “I’m not sure that proves anything but more than that that’s not entirely what I’m worried about.”

“Then what _are_ you worried about?”

Bruce studied him for a long moment before shaking his head. “I’m not sure yet.”

Tony raised an eyebrow but didn’t offer Bruce any clues or answers. Sensing that he wasn’t going to get anywhere, Bruce shook his head again before filling a travel mug full of coffee and saying good-bye. Tony lingered in the kitchen for a good few minutes before hearing Peter shuffling around upstairs, getting ready for school. He couldn’t drive the kid to school himself but he made sure to give Happy a call to swing by in half an hour. Steve, and therefore Bruce, didn’t want him leaving the house for his own safety and Tony on occasion respected their wishes. But more than that, as stubborn as he was and as far in denial he suspected he might be, he wasn’t about to put Peter in danger by getting behind the wheel when he felt this shitty. When his heart might give out half-way through the drive and cause him to drive the car straight into oncoming traffic.

He instead fulfilled his parental duties by putting together a lunch for Peter that was almost passably nutritious and sending him on his way. Which left Tony all to himself again. Left him alone with the realization that he had made a promise to himself yesterday that he would work more on his heart today. Which was just…still not what he wanted to think about.

But it had to be done.

Pouring himself some coffee in the biggest mug he could find, Tony muttered to himself as he stomped back down to his lab. Flopping down in his chair at his desk, Tony brought up a projected screen with a quick wave of his hands. “JARVIS, wake up, buddy. It’s time to go to work again.”

“ _And which project would you like to start with today?_ ”

“Pull up the data I started last week about my heart thing.”

“ _Wise choice, Sir_.”

Tony gulped down his coffee then stretched over to grab the heart monitor he had built as a stream of information flooded his screen and the hologram of his circulatory system appeared in front of him. He skimmed through what JARVIS had saved from the last test but didn’t linger on anything for too long. Since he had stopped the test half-way through the numbers didn’t really mean anything but it was good to keep all the same. That way he could compare those partial results with the outcomes of future tests to start looking for trends over time.

Draining the rest of his coffee, Tony released a breath and began to strap on the heart monitor. “Okay, let’s hook this back up.” It only took a few seconds for him to pull it on before pulling the liquid compound he had created from a locked drawer and a new syringe he had swiped from Bruce’s medical supplies. Yanking the cap off of the syringe, Tony carefully drew some of the liquid up into it. “Note that I am using a slightly altered compound for the tracers this time so hopefully it should…” Flicking the syringe to try and get any bubbles out, he efficiently slipped the needle under his skin and pushed the plunger down. “Ah! Nope, alright, no less painful but looks just as effective. How’s it reading, J?”

“ _Excellently. But, Sir, my scan is also indicating that you did not take your medication today.”_

 _“_ Obviously. That would only skew the results of this test which is sort of the point of this whole exercise. Try to keep up.”                

“ _Of course_ …” JARVIS almost seemed reticent, as if he wanted to say something more but was hesitating. Sometimes Tony wondered if he had programmed him to be a little _too_ human.

Tony sat through the whole test this time, going through his work email as he watched the tracer compound move like black ink in his veins under his skin and travel up his arm. He tried not to let his anxiety get to him as numbers and data points kept being added to the chart. There was no point in being anxious until after the test finished. Especially because it would affect the final results.

 JARVIS stayed quiet the entire time and only spoke once the test was finally finished. “ _The scan is complete. Would you like me to upload the results to your tablet?”_

Letting out a small breath, Tony undid the fasteners on the heart monitor and pulled it off. He had successfully made it through step one of the whole thing: complete the test. That was enough for one day. Step two, actually reviewing the results, could wait a bit. Rolling his chair back, Tony didn’t even so much as glance up at the screen. “Nah. Save it and store it.”

“ _I suggest that you at the very least forward them to Dr. Banner so he—_ “

“Alright, enough. I’m closing the matter for now so stop talking about it.”

“ _Sir—_ “

Tony glared up at the screen, now empty of all the graphs and charts. JARVIS was being unusually persistent and it was starting to grate on his nerves. “How about this? I’ll sleep on it. I’m tired anyway.”

“ _I must insist that_ —“

“Mute.” JARVIS immediately fell silent, the command overriding whatever desires the AI had to the contrary. He was grateful for it because he didn’t have the energy to argue about it anymore. He hadn’t slept well for the past few nights, even worse than he had been now that Steve wasn’t there. His nerves felt frayed and he figured a mod-morning nap couldn’t do anything but help. And, hey, if it also was a way to procrastinate that was just taking two birds out with one stone.

O~O~O~O

Peter looked up from his book as he heard footsteps tromping down the staircase.  After Happy had picked him up from school he had come home to find the house quiet. It was weird and made Peter feel lonely so to make himself feel better he had grabbed a book his Pop had bought him and took his favorite seat in the media room. The footsteps were the first sound he had heard other than the sound of his own hand turning the pages for hours and it startled him a bit. He had thought that his Dad was sleeping.

As Tony drifted past the open doorway to the study it was clear that he had been at least trying. He was dressed in a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt with his hair a mess and sticking up at odd angles. His face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He didn’t look okay and it scared him.

“Hey, Dad?”

Peter had been quiet but his Dad’s ears had still caught in and he stopped to blink groggily at him from the hall. Almost like he was surprised to see him there at first and then he gave a small, forced smile. “Yeah? What’s up, Pete?”

“Is, is Pop coming back soon?”

“Yeah. The last time he called in he said he was wrapping things up. Why, you need something?”

“No…” The truth was Peter was on edge and just wanted his Pop to come back. There was something…wrong with his Dad and he didn’t like it. There had been for a while but he could tell that it was getting worse, that it was worse today. He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t like it. There was something about the way he smelled, the way the air around him _felt_ that was off. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” That’s what Pop had said before he had left. That his Dad was going to be resting and he needed to sleep so Peter shouldn’t feel too bad if his Dad wasn’t able to spend a lot of time with him.

His Dad made a face. “Relax, I’m just grabbing something to drink.”

Peter sat up a little later with a frown. “What are you getting?”

“Not alcohol. Jesus, you’re worse than Bruce.”

Peter frowned but settled back against the cushions and tried not to take his Dad’s rude behavior personally. Everyone was getting more and more stressed and the smell of it was starting to seep into every room in the house. But the scent hung around his Dad the most and Peter wanted it to stop. His Dad had said that everything would be okay but Peter was worried that for the first time his Dad would be wrong. “Okay. Did you want pizza for dinner? I, I could call Uncle Bruce, maybe he could pick some up when he comes home?”

“Sure...”

Peter nodded and watched as his Dad turned away and walked away. Swallowing, he crossed his legs under him, pulling them in tight before opening his book again and trying to remember where he had left off.

He had just found his spot and gotten back into the story when he was jerked back to reality. Peter jumped then frowned when he heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen. His Dad had seemed upset, but he usually didn’t throw things like that. Biting his lip, Peter let out a small, questioning noise before pushing himself up and off of the couch, letting his book fall to the side. He had never tried to calm his Dad down before but he was the only one here now. How did Pop do it? No, he couldn’t be an alpha like Pop. How did Uncle Bruce do it? He was a beta like him. Peter just knew he shouldn’t get mad, that might just make it worse.

Padding down the hall, Peter peeked around the corner into the kitchen. “Hey Dad?” His eyes immediately caught on a smashed porcelain mug sitting in a puddle of what looked like tea. Okay, so there was the damage, but where was--?

His inner dialogue died as he saw a pair of socked feet sticking out from behind the island as they gave a violent jerk. Stumbling forward, Peter all but launched himself over the counter to find his Dad on the ground practically seizing as he gripped at his chest. “ _Dad!_ Dad!”

Jumping down, Peter crouched next to him, watching helplessly as the Cat gasped for breath, his face pale as he stared back up at his son with wide, dilated eyes. “What’s wrong?! What do I do? What do I do!? Dad!”

“B—B—Bruce…!”

“Uncle Bruce? Should I call Uncle Bruce? Oh God, oh God,” Fumbling his phone out of his pocket, Peter could barely hold it, his fingers were shaking so bad. He needed to get it together. His Dad needed him for once, he could do this!

He had never been so happy to have the older pack member on speed dial because there was no way he’d be able to type out a full number right now. Reaching down with his free hand Peter clasped his Dad’s tightly in his own, scared that if he let go that his Dad would stop breathing. The phone rang once, twice, then finally, finally there was an answer.

“ _Hello?_ ”

“Uncle Bruce! Something’s wrong with my Dad! Please, you gotta help!”

“ _Tony? What happened?_ ” Uncle Bruce’s voice fell low, serious, and Peter wanted to cry. He wanted him here. He wanted Pop here.

“He, he’s on the floor holding his chest. He’s not breathing!”

There was a pause that seemed to take forever before Bruce was back on the line, his voice tight. “ _Alright, Peter, listen to me. I think Tony is having a heart attack._ ”

“A heart a—!” What did that, what did that even mean?!

“ _I’ve just sent for an ambulance. They’ll be there in minutes but in the meantime do you have any aspirin in the house? Anything in your room or in a first aid kit?_ ”

“Y-Yeah. I mean, I think so!”

“ _Good. Go get it_.”

“But Dad--!”

“ _Peter, go get it._ ”

Tears slipped down his cheeks as he pulled his hand out of his Dad’s, leaving the phone there in case, in case his Dad needed to talk to Uncle Bruce, if, if he could talk to Uncle Bruce. He ran into his parents’ bedroom and their connected bathroom. He knew they kept a small First Aid kit in here, there had to be some asprin in it!

When he bowled in through the door he stopped for a moment and his hands grasped at the threshold. Their bathroom was a mess. The medicine cabinet had been thrown open and there were pill bottles spilled across the counter top. One of the bottles had been open and the pills inside strewn into the sink. What had happened to his Dad?

Swallowing again, Peter pushed all the bottles and pills he didn’t recognize away with shaking hands until he spotted the asprin and grabbed onto it so tight he heard the plastic bottle crack. Then he ran back down the hall, leaping down the stairs, then skidded on the tile in the foyer as he ran back into the kitchen. His Dad was there, just like he left him, but it seemed harder for him to breath. Collapsing down next to him, Peter scrambled for the phone again. “Okay. Okay, I found some. I found some, Uncle Bruce!”

“ _Good. You’re doing very good, Peter. Now you’ve got to get him to take some. He’s a Shifter, give him four._ ”

Peter wrenched the bottle open and dumped a whole pile into his hands and it took him two tries to count out four of them. “What, what if he won’t swallow it?”

“ _We’ll only jump that hurdle if we need to. Just put them in his mouth._ ”

Leaning over his Dad, he set the phone down. “Please, please, please…Please just swallow them, Dad. Please.” His Dad had been watching him and he looked like he was trying to help but in the end Peter had to put them all into his mouth for him then grabbed onto his Dad’s hand again as he tried to swallow them. He choked a bit but after one terrifying moment Peter saw his swallow and he leaned his head down against the Cat’s shoulder, shaking all over.

“It, it’s be okay, Dad. It’ll be okay!” It had to be.

Peter didn’t know how long they stayed like that on the kitchen floor but it seemed like hours before he heard a soft noise echoing out from the front of the house. He looked up as it started to get louder then jumped to his feet as he realized what it was. It sounded like a helicopter.

Running out of the kitchen, Peter sprinted back through the house and burst out through the front door. The doors flew back and he had to cover his face as a blast of wind hit him, a helicopter landing in their large driveway less than fifty feet away. It had barely touched the ground before paramedics were climbing out of it, pulling a stretcher out behind them.

A wave of relief washed over him and he waved frantically at them before hurrying back into the house. “Dad! They’re here! They sent a helicopter! Dad?”

Peter’s eyes widened as he rounded the corner into the kitchen and realized that his Dad’s eyes were closed. And he had gone still. Even his chest, his chest wasn’t moving. “Dad…? Dad?!”

“ _Master Peter,”_ Peter jumped as JARVIS finally spoke up and even the AI sounded tense, _“Master Tony is unconscious and has gone into cardiac arrest. The paramedics are on their way inside, may I suggest standing back to allow them clear access to your father?”_  

Peter had gone numb. It didn’t feel like he was in control of his body, like he was watching a movie of himself, as he stepped back and pressed himself against the wall just as the front doors banged back open. He opened his mouth and it felt like he was being choked as he cried out. “Here. _In here_!”

O~O~O~O

.

.

.

Steve paced anxiously by the side of Tony’s hospital bed while Bruce shuffled quietly around the room. He could barely look down at the bed ad every time he paced by it just made his worry grow. Tony’s skin had taken on an almost grey pallor, his eyes sunken, and his normally strong body looking so fragile.

His eyes jumped over to his Beta as Bruce left out a soft hum and he saw the other Wolf bent over Tony. “Steve, he’s coming around.”

Releasing a breath it felt like he had been holding all day, Steve raced to his mate’s side and grabbed tightly onto his hand while at the same time being careful not to pull at any of the wires or tubes attached to the Cat. “Tony!” He saw Tony’s eyelids flutter and gave his fingers a soft squeeze. “Tony…Can you hear me?”

“Mnn…Steve…”

Tony’s voice was quiet but it was there and it was the best thing Steve thought he had ever heard. The Cat’s eyes opened, his gaze unfocused as he tried to look around for the source of the noise. When he finally caught sight of Steve he grunted and looked like he was going to try and push himself up but Steve stopped him with a hand on his chest. A hoarse protest burst out of him but Steve just shook his head then moved his hand up to stroke Tony’s hair back out of his face as Bruce frowned down at him. “Tony, you just had a massive heart attack. You need to take it easy.”

“Ugh…” Tony winced, “I thought we solved this problem…”

Bruce shook his head, resting a comforting hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Just because you got a new heart doesn’t mean you can’t have heart problems. You might be healthier than you were growing up, but you’re still at risk. Now, Steve has been telling me you’ve been having chest pain leading up to this.”

Tony rolled his head over to look at Steve. “You knew?”

Steve swallowed and nodded. “I noticed. I just didn’t know how bad it was.” It hadn’t even crossed his mind that it could ever get this bad.

Bruce was frowning now and Tony turned to look back at him as the doctor spoke. “Why didn’t you say something? You _know_ something like that might be important.”

“I…was trying to ignore it so it would go away.”

Steve’s breath caught up in his throat and he gently lifted his mate’s hand to his cheek before pressing a kiss up against his knuckles. “God, Tony, you can be such a stubborn ass.”

Tony huffed in a soft imitation of a laugh before he fell quiet again. Steve’s eyes darted up to his mate’s face to check that he was still conscious and breathing. “…Peter…He was there…He saw?”

Steve’s jaw tightened before he nodded. Bruce spoke up again, his tone softer this time. “He called me and I called the ambulance.”

“Is he okay?”

Squeezing Tony’s fingers again, Steve placed another kiss against the back of his hand. “He’s scared and worried, just like the rest of us.”

“Shit…”

They all sat with that for a long moment before Bruce sighed. “You’re still not out of trouble, Tony.”

“How bad?”

“You’re being kept alive by wires. I’m frankly shocked that you’ve regained consciousness. We’re prepping for surgery.”

“Shit…”

Attempting a smile, Steve took in a shaky breath. Bruce had been right; no one expected Tony to be cognizant before he went on the operating table. If at all. “You’ll be okay, Tony.”

Tony closed his eyes before slowly opening them again. “Sure ‘bout that?”

Steve nodded and didn’t let a speck of doubt show on his face. Not about this. “You have to be.”

“…Sorry for being an ass.”

Tony never apologized without being forced to. Not to Steve.  It was too unlike him and for once Steve didn’t want to hear it. It sounded too much like he was making amends. Like he was saying... “No. Don’t, don’t apologize.”

“Love you.”

That pushed Steve over the edge and he felt tears that had been threatening to fall finally begin to roll down his cheeks. It was only the second time Tony had ever told Steve he loved him. Now he knew this was his version of saying ‘good-bye’. But Steve didn’t have the heart to tell Tony not to say those three words. “I love you too.”

Steve started when a moment later he felt a hand on his arm and looked back to see Bruce standing behind him. He hadn’t even seen his Beta move across the room. “Steve…I need to ask you to leave now.”

Releasing Tony’s hand, Steve shakily took a step away from Tony’s bed. “But he’s my mate.”

“I know.”

“He’s my mate, Bruce.” He needed Bruce to understand. His mate was lying on a hospital bed looking more dead than he was alive. There was no way to describe the way his world was on the edge of falling apart.

“I know, Steve.” Bruce urged him further away by gently pulling his arm back. Steve felt numb and let Bruce guide him out of the room. “I’ll take care of him but I can’t have you here during the surgery.”

“But if something goes wrong—“

“That’s exactly why I can’t let you stay.”

Steve’s mouth fell open, ready to argue but then he forced himself to listen to Bruce’s words. If he stayed, if he stayed and something went wrong, he didn’t know how he would react. If he would throw himself at Tony, if he would tear at the doctors to try and get to his mate.  Steve felt broken inside and was sure it was showing on his face, unable to keep it off. “I’m trusting you to take care of him, Bruce.”

“I’ll do everything I possibly can but we won’t really know what we’re up against until we start the surgery..”

“Please, just…keep me updated.”

Bruce nodded and finally got Steve all the way out of the room. As soon as he was out, nurses and doctors flooded in, blocking his view of his mate. “I’ll do what I can.” Bruce repeated.

O~O~O~O

Tony slowly came to, surfacing from the fog of the pain medication. He could sense movement around him and reached his senses out to figure out what was going on as his vision flickered in and out. He was still in the hospital. Must have just gotten back from the operating room. The movement was a person steadily moving around the room and they smelled familiar. The corner of his lips turned up into a weak smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “Bruce…”

The movement paused and then walked over to the bed. Tony blinked a couple more times and reached out a hand which Bruce quickly but gently grabbed onto, grounding Tony as he fought through his drowsiness. “Welcome back, Tony.”

“Bruce…How’d it,” Tony grimaced again and swallowed, his throat feeling like someone had stuffed a bag of cottonballs down it, “how’d it go?” Honestly he didn’t want to know. He was afraid of the answer. But he knew he had to hear it at some point so there was no point of drawing it out any longer. It was better to just get it over with. If it turned out he was dying he wanted to have the time to get his affairs in order. Finish up that will.

Bruce must have heard something in his voice or felt a tremble in his fingers because he gave Tony’s hand a comforting squeeze. “Luckily for you, the rest of the heart still looks healthy enough so once you completely heal from the surgery you should be good as new. Or, good as you were after your last heart surgery.”

“Thank god.” The last thing Tony wanted was to have to be treated like he was made of glass for the rest of his life. He would have rathered his heart go out completely. “Good old Dad had a strong heart.”

“He would have had to, to be able to put up with you.” Tony snorted then grunted as the sensation caused a dull pain in his chest. He still had to be healing and knew then that most of the pain was being kept at bay by medication. “The pack’s waiting to see you. Should I let them in?”

“Just Steve…and Peter. For now.” He didn’t know if he was quite ready to be surrounded by worried faces. Two would be plenty.

“Okay. I’ll send them in. And Tony?”

“Hmm?”

“You are terrible at following directions.”

Tony’s face drew up into a frown, confused. Had he done something in a half-drugged state because there was no way that Bruce would be able to hold _that_ against him. “What?”

Bruce’s lips drew up into a frail smile and Tony realized that he was being teased. “I asked you to do one thing when I left the house: stay safe, and then you go and have a heart attack on me. You’re terrible at following directions.”

“Well, you know me…” Tony teased weakly back. He wished he had the energy to be a bit more enthusiastic about it. “Tell me one thing, I’ll do the other just to spite you.”

“Yeah.”

Bruce offered him another smile, stronger this time, then slipped away and out of the private recovery room Tony had been moved to. A few minutes passed where Tony floated in and out of consciousness, his body still struggling to break free of whatever anesthesia they had given him. But then the door to his room opens again and the scent of his mate and child snapped him back awake.

O~O

Steve had been waiting outside with the rest of the pack ever since Bruce had pushed him out of Tony’s room. Peter was sitting by his side, hugging his knees as he stared blankly down at the children’s magazine Clint had dug out of the stack of magazines in the waiting room for him. Steve was so focused on the noises coming from the other side of the door that he had leapt to his feet before Bruce even started to open it up. His Beta looked exhausted but quietly happy and it gave him some fresh hope that things would eventually be alright.

Bruce’s eyes met his and nodded. “Tony’s awake. He’s asking for you, Steve, and Peter.”

Everyone breathed a collected sigh of relief and Steve gently took Peter’s hand and urged him to his feet then followed Bruce back inside. Bruce walked them down a short hallway lined with doors until reaching one near the end and he motioned Steve towards it. “He’s inside. I’m going to take this chance to grab a power nap in the break room but call me if anything goes funny. Tony should be stable for now though.”

“Thank you.” Swallowing, Steve watched his Beta go then, squeezing Peter’s hand a bit tighter in his, pushed the door open.

Tony eyes were open and on him as Steve stepped inside and he hurried in and immediately walked over to the bed then, much to Tony’s apparent amusement, actually climbed up onto the small hospital bed. Tony had to roll over to make room for him and Steve spooned up against his back, taking care not to jostle Tony’s IV or the wire hooked up his to his chest to track his heartbeat. He knew it probably went against hospital protocol but he needed to have Tony in his arms again and _feel_ that his mate was safe now. Tony opened his mouth, as if ready to let a smart remark roll off his tongue, but then Steve wrapped his arms around his waist and Tony closed his mouth again.

It was Peter instead who broke the silence, the boy walking up and gently leaning against the plastic side of Tony’s bed. His eyes darted from the wires to the machine then back to Tony’s face. “Dad...”

“Hey, Pete.” Tony’s voice was a bit hoarse but it was steady and Steve was beyond grateful for that.

“Are you okay?”

“Now, actually, yes…I hear I’m doing alright. Except there’s this huge Wolf taking up too much space on my ridiculously small hospital bed.”

Peter giggled nervously as Steve snorted and tightened his hold around Tony’s waist. Tony pushed back lightly against him but then sighed and seemed to resign himself to it and changed his focus. “Pete, can you see about getting me some food?”

Peter looked relieved to have some semblance of normalcy back but Steve frowned. “Tony, I don’t know if—“

“Relax, Steve. They operated on my heart, not my stomach. I’m hungry.”

“Okay.” Steve could grant him that. He had been in the hospital for almost two days now and Bruce had told him before he had noticed that Tony hadn’t eaten well after Steve had left. Pushing himself up a bit so that he could look at Peter over Tony’s shoulder, he made sure that he had Peter’s attention. “But, soup or something, okay Peter? Thor is right outside, have him take you down to the cafeteria.”

A pout settled on Peter’s lips. “I can do it on my own.”

Steve reached out and ruffled Peter’s hair. “I know. But this way he can help you carry food back up if you want to get something for yourself too.” In reality he didn’t want Peter to be alone right now. He knew Peter probably had the capacity to run down to the cafeteria on his own—he had proven just how capable he could be when he had saved Tony’s life—but Steve had lost family before. Peter had just almost lost his father and Steve wanted to keep a comforting presence at his son’s side for as long as possible.

Peter nodded then reluctantly left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Momentarily alone with his mate, Steve closed his eyes as nuzzled Tony’s cheek. “…How are you really doing?”

Tony grunted and adjusted his position in Steve’s hold. “Hurts a bit but Bruce must have me on some good meds if they’re as strong as they are on me.” The ‘as a Shifter’ was implied.

Steve ran his fingers through Tony’s hair then down the side of Tony’s face, happy just to be touching his mate, warm and breathing and in recovery. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Tony spoke up again. “…What day is it?”

It took a second for Steve to answer. The last few days had been such a jumble of fear and worry that time had sort of stopped making sense. “It’s the seventeenth.”

“Damn it...”

Steve tensed at Tony’s dull hiss. “What’s wrong?”

“I was supposed to start my heat three days ago.”

Letting out a small breath that it wasn’t anything more serious, Steve bent his head down and smelled Tony’s throat where his scent had always been concentrated. He smelled tired, injured, but not like he was anywhere near the start of his rut. His heat was still a long ways away. “You don’t smell any different.”

“Maybe I should call Bruce.”

He genuinely sounded concerned and Steve nuzzled him again. “We can if you want to, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. With what you’ve been through, it’s probably just delayed.”

Tony twisted his head to frown back at him. “Delayed?”

Shrugging, Steve explained as best he could. “Your hormones become unbalanced. There’s more than that but I got the talk a few years ago so I don’t remember it all. After the Howling Commandoes my heat was more than a full season late.”

Tony frowned again before facing forward again. “What about now? Shouldn’t you be a mess?”

“My mate is being hunted and just had a near-fatal heart attack. I can’t say my body is in any better a mood than yours is.” His and Tony’s heats had synchronized about a year after they had mated and by all accounts he should be a mess right now too. But he didn’t think he had it in him to even get aroused with Tony looking the way he did.

“Well that’s just…great. There goes my vacation plans…”

Steve smiled and rested his forehead against the back of Tony’s hair. “If it makes you feel better I’m not going to let you go back to work for at least two more weeks. You can have a, what do they call it? When you stay at home for your vacation?”

“A ‘staycation’?” Tony snorted but Steve didn’t need to look to know that his mate was smiling. “You’re ridiculous…”

“I know.” Tilting his head, Steve placed a kiss against Tony’s head. He thought he was being perfectly reasonable but he was going to let Tony call him whatever he wanted. Because he was still here, still speaking, and that was all that mattered.

O~O~O~O

There was no denying it. One day after his operation and Tony was bored as hell. He had the best room available including the best channel package the local cable company had to offer but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep his attention.

He wanted to be back home. He wanted to be in his workshop. He even would have been happy to be back at work. Pepper had actually forbid him to do any work while he was in the hospital, intent on forcing Tony to strictly obey the doctors’ commands that he should get some rest. But he didn’t want rest. He wanted to research, to build. And most of all he wanted to know exactly what was going on with the investigation.

He flipping through channels on the television when part of his wish came true and there was an unexpected knock on his hospital room door. Tony hardly glanced up and just shouted at the door instead. “Unless you’re here with food or entertainment, keep walking!”

The door creaked open, “Well, I don’t have food but I do have something that might entertain you for a little while.”

Looking over at the familiar voice, Tony grinned and shut the TV off as he caught sight of Phil Coulson. “Agent! What brings you here?”

Coulson offered him a small smile and walked over to his bed. “I’m here on business, though it is good to see you looking so alert.”

Groaning, Tony rested back against his angled bed. “I’m going out of my mind. Tell me you’re here to sign me out because I’m about to shift and claw my way out of here if I need to.”

“No you’re not.”

No he wasn’t. But Coulson didn’t need to know that. “Their blood is on your hands.”

“It’s a risk I’ll have to take since the doctors have told me that you need to stay at least one more day for them to ensure that your heart is working as it should.” Of course he had already been informed of the situation. “I wanted to let you know that we just got an emergency call that I’ll need to send Steve and your pack out again. I’m about to let Steve know but I thought you should hear about it before he does given your condition.”

Tony smirked then shrugged at the implication that he needed Steve here with him. Although part of him didn’t like the idea he wasn’t about to admit that weakness in front of anyone, not even Coulson. “It’s fine. When you get in touch with Steve let him know that I’ll be fine and it won’t hurt my feelings if he does his job. I’m already in the hospital, it’s not like I can get into any more trouble than I already have.”

“I wouldn’t put any money on that but I’ll let him know. But I didn’t come in just to tell you that, I brought you a small riddle to solve.” Tony raised a brow, trying to look condescending even in a hospital gown with an IV strapped to his arm. If Coulson handed him a crossword puzzle Tony was going to throw it right back in his face.  He had an app for that on his phone that lost all entertainment value about six hours ago. “I just came from the police station. They’ve been interviewing your sniper on and off for about thirteen hours now but he hasn’t told them anything yet. They took his personal possessions but the only thing on him that gave any type of clue was this.”

Phil pulled out his phone and passed it to Tony. On the screen was a picture of a small piece of paper that looked like it had been handled and folded over and over again, the corners crinkled and creased. It was a short letter typed out in a standard word processing font that read: _Get it right or consider yourself a dead man. 07 761 1430 1445_. _J.H._

Tony narrowed his eyes at the image as Coulson nodded down at it. “They’ve tested it for fingerprints but the only visible ones left came from the sniper. They are running his prints through the system to try and figure out who he is but so far they haven’t gotten any hits. Listening to him speak the few words he did, he seemed to be from an Eastern European country so he might not yet be registered in the United States databanks. Any information you could give us on what those numbers could mean would be a great help.”

“’Us’? Did the police finally let SHIELD in?”

“Given the escalation of the attempts on your life and seeing that Steve is starting to step in, they’ve finally decided to accept our offer of collaboration.”

“Good for you.”

“Good for _you_.”

Tony snorted then turned back to the phone. “Right. Anyway…this letter. You haven’t figured out the numbers yet?”

Coulson maintained a neutral, if not slightly curious, expression. “Not that I am aware of. The police had been holding onto it but turned it over to me an hour ago when they decided to work with us. I decided a good first step would be to come ask you about it.”

“Well the first thing I have to say is that the cops are idiots.”

The man tilted his head. “Your judgment might be a little biased, but I assume that means you know what the numbers mean.”

Tony nodded and passed the phone back to Coulson. “You’d be right. Oh-seven is the floor number I was on and seven-sixty-one is the room number.”

The SHIELD agent frowned as he reexamined the photo. “I don’t remember the rooms being numbered.”

“It’s not listed on the door but that’s how we refer to them within the company…” Tony’s voice trailed off. Right. Most people wouldn’t have knowledge of the numbers. If you didn’t have insider knowledge or the building’s blue-prints, you wouldn’t be able to tell.

“And the other numbers?”

“Fourteen-thirty is military time for two thirty in the afternoon when the meeting started and fourteen-forty-five—“

Realization dawned quickly on Coulson’s face and he looked up from the image to meet Tony’s gaze. “Is approximately when the shot was fired. It’s a roadmap for the assassination attempt.”

“Exactly.”

“Then J.H. might be our mastermind behind it all.”

“Looks like it.”

“I don’t suppose you can enlighten that as well, can you?”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that one…”

Coulson gave him a knowing look but took his leave after that to let the police know about the new lead and get back to the investigation. Tony watched him go and settled back against the thin mattress to think.

He already figured it out. He knew it wouldn’t be long until Coulson put the dots together either. Judging by how much that paper had been handled the sniper had received it at least a few days before the actual shooting, meaning that the sender had to have had advanced information about where and when the meeting was going to take place. Very few people had access to that kind of information, not to mention the specific room number the meeting was going to be held in. He didn’t think any of his people would be willing to sell him out but there were a few folks lingering in the company who had connections to others who would like to ruin him. One person in particular came to mind. And their initials just happened to be J.H.

He didn’t have any real evidence to back up his suspicions but nothing else made as much sense. He just didn’t think Hammer had the balls to take things this far.

Leaning forward, he rested his head in his hand and wondered what the hell he did to make his life so complicated. “Shit…”

Half an hour later Steve had called, just like clockwork, to let him know he had to leave. That he had to take the whole pack out again but was letting Bruce stay at home to both let him rest and so that someone could watch Peter while Tony recovered. That he was so, so sorry and if there was anything he could do to stay he would have done it but lives were on the line and—Tony had cut him off there and had spent the next ten minutes promising Steve that he would be okay. Bored, but okay.

A few hours later he was still mapping out a plan of how to handle the situation—which lawyers to call, what steps he needed to take with the police to protect himself—when he was interrupted by yet another knock on the door. But instead of a familiar face it was just another nurse. But she was smiling which was suspicious because he had scared all but the most jaded nurses away.  “Hello, Mr. Stark. How are you feeling?”

His response was terse. “Fine.” He didn’t mind happy people but didn’t like this peppy-happy thing she had going on.

“Aw, you seem a little worried. Watching the news?”

What? Oh. He had turned the TV back on about fifteen minutes ago just to have some background noise and it looked like it had landed on a news station. “Sure.” Whatever would get her out of his room faster.

“Well maybe this will cheer you up.”

She pulled something out from behind her back and he flinched back in his bed before realizing that, no, it wasn’t a bomb or a gun. It looked like a CD case. “What is it?”

She kept that smile on her face as she bustled over to the television. “A DVD was sent to you. Maybe your boyfriend sent you a homemade video?”

She winked at him and Tony fought the urge to roll his eyes; he already knew it wasn’t from Steve. Not that Steve wouldn’t have wanted to send him some cutesy video but more because he doubted Steve would be able to record something, download it onto a computer, and burn it onto a DVD.  And even if he figured it out he wouldn’t have been able to do so since he had been sent back into the field earlier that day. The only person who was at home was Bruce, who was taking a much-deserved break and keeping an eye on Peter at home. But he wasn’t going to tell the nurse all this. So he just smiled as politely as he could manage instead and nodded as she slipped it into the old DVD player beneath the TV mounted on the wall. He grabbed the remote off of his bedside table and shooed her away.

He couldn’t even begin to guess what the hell the DVD was about so as soon as the nurse shut the door behind her he flipped the DVD player on and pressed ‘play’.

He heard the disc whir to life in the machine and when an image flickered onto the screen it was the last face he expected to see. And then it all made sickening, horrible sense.

It was Justin Hammer, looking entirely too smug and it made Tony’s blood run cold. “ _Hi Tony. I know, this is so low tech, right? But when I heard you were in the hospital for a heart attack of all things it was the simplest way I could think of_.”

Tony leaned forward in his bed and jammed the ‘up volume’ button.

“ _See, here’s the thing, Tony. You have turned out to be really, really difficult to kill. And at this point I figured the police must have almost caught up with me, so why not go for broke? So here it is, I’m laying all my cards on the table. I need you to drop any and all charges and forget about the whole ‘double-dealing’ thing. Why, you may ask, would you do something like that? It was supposed to be real easy, you were just supposed to die and that would solve my problems. Now you’ve forced my hand, Tony. You really only have yourself to blame_.”

Tony’s eyes widened then narrowed into dangerous slits as his world narrowed down to the television screen. “What did you do, you son of a bitch…?”

“ _I had to think long and hard about how to solve this. I mean, I can’t kill you and you surrounded yourself with inhuman bodyguards. But then I realized that your boyfriend leaves a lot to go play the hero, along with the rest of his team so I gave them a reason to leave. I’ve been scoping your house out for a while and I knew that someone would have to stay to keep an eye on the little brat you adopted. Can you imagine how happy I was to find out that it was Dr. Banner who got left behind? To make a long story short, I’m sure by now my men have gone in and taken custody of the boy. Now you have a choice to make: you can drop the charges and destroy every piece of evidence you have on me and my company’s dealings or I will make sure you never see the boy again. I wouldn’t usually go to this extreme, Tony, but you backed me into a corner and this is what I have to do to protect myself. Oh, and you’re relatively smart so I’m sure you can understand that if you involve the police or whatever agents you have in your back pocket in SHIELD, the boy will be the one to pay for it. I have nothing to lose any more so don’t try to test me_.”

Tony was moving before Hammer even finished talking and tore off the wires attached to his chest and ripped out his IV. Alarms started blaring above his hospital bed but he didn’t even hear them, just raced towards the door on unsteady legs.

It was like history was repeating itself. Tony was away from Peter and because of him, because of what he and Steve did, how they lived their lives, Peter was in danger again. Except this time the enemy was purposefully going after Peter. The only thing that gave Tony any hope at all was that, like before, Bruce was going to be there. And he knew that Bruce would do whatever it took to protect their son.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heey, the end of the cliffhanger is finally here! Sorry it took a bit longer than I expected. DX But no matter, the wait is over! Whew! Big, loving thanks to everyone who commented for the last chapter!! Also, if you haven’t checked it out yet, if this chapter again leaves you looking for more Shifter!Marvel goodness, check out the one-shot I wrote as an add-on to this AU I created, “Watching the Stars”, which delves into Charles and Erik’s (you know, those X-men folks) perspective.

Bruce rubbed his eyes then let his glasses fall back into place with a small sigh. He had been home for the past day and a half, basically ever since Tony had woken up from surgery. Once he was sure his friend was stable he had decided that he had earned a break and left Tony’s recovery up to the other, very capable doctors in SHIELD’s employment. Well, okay, that decision had mostly been based on Tony’s own insistence that he “get his ass back home” because he looked like he was “about to flip out and go psycho in the hospital”. Bruce had protested but even he knew that his stress levels weren’t the best. Having your best friend and your alpha’s mate nearly die four times in the span of two months did that to you.

So now he was giving himself a break. Of course, around here that meant that since he was home he was the one who got to watch Peter but he was alright with that. It was easier than watching Tony in the hospital. As much as Bruce loved the Cat, he would tell anyone who asked that Tony really was a high-maintenance patient. He also knew that it gave Steve the chance to relax as well. And by “relax” he meant “free himself up to have the time to accept another mission.”

Bruce had slept for about ten hours straight after getting back from the hospital then had cleaned himself up and made himself and Peter something to eat. Now he was sitting on the couch with his laptop, going over the latest report the SHIELD doctors at the hospital had sent to him while Peter rested upstairs. He had requested to be continually updated as Tony’s personal physician and no one protested. Bruce had a feeling that they were all too happy to leave dealing directly with Tony to him. He didn’t mind though, and was too pleased with Tony’s latest test results to worry about the remarks they left in the notes about Tony’s obnoxious behavior during said tests.

Taking a moment to simplify the test results and what they meant for Tony’s prognosis, Bruce forwarded the email to Steve, knowing that the alpha would appreciate the update as much as he did.

Thank god Tony had pulled through. After everything…Bruce didn’t know how he’d be able to handle it after knowing for Tony so long and seeing him have to fight so hard to survive when he was younger. And Steve—Bruce didn’t even want to think about what would happen to Steve if Tony hadn’t made it. Yes, they were both alphas but they were still most definitely mates and if Tony had died from his heart attack it might not have been long before Steve passed away too.

Bruce slipped his glasses off of his face and looked up as he heard a hard knock on the door. Putting his laptop aside, he rose to his feet, stretched, and slowly began to walk to see who it was. He wasn’t expecting any visitors but with the state their lives were in, it really could be anyone: police, SHIELD, FBI, a reporter. There was another loud knock and Bruce sighed. “Alright, I’m coming.”

Padding through the room and into the foyer in socked feet, Bruce ran his fingers through his hair to try to comb it into some semblance of looking brushed. He really hoped it was the police and not a reporter; reporters were nearly impossible to get rid of and that wasn’t how he wanted to spend his evening.

He reached the door and his hand ran down to rub at the back of his neck as the knocking grew louder, more demanding and his spirits sunk. It was either the state police or paparazzi. He couldn’t decide which was worse. “Okay, okay, hold on!” Grabbing onto the handle, he pulled the door open with a glower on his face. “Listen, I would appreciate it if you could keep it dow—“

Bruce’s voice caught in his throat as his eyes landed on the small group of men, humans, standing just on the other side of the door. The closest one, the one who must have knocked, was staring right back at him with hate in his eyes and a pistol in his hand.

Bruce gasped and punched the man square in the face. Heart hammering in his chest, he stumbled back shocked at what had just happened as the man reeled back, gripping at his nose as blood spurted from it. What had just happened? He jumped back a bit further as another one of the men lunged forward, towards the house, and he managed to choke out, “JARVIS, lock this place down!”

“ _Yes, Sir_.”

The front doors slammed shut so hard that had the man coming through not jumped back he would have been crushed. Bruce swallowed and shook his head. Okay, he had to think. He had to think! There were men outside with weapons and assumedly prepared to use them. But why? Nobody was even here! They couldn’t be robbers, what kind of robbers would travel en masse like that? Throughout the house Bruce could hear the sound of doors and windows closing up tight and locks clicking into place. “Alert SHIELD and call the police!”

JARVIS’s cool voice sounded unusually terse as the AI replied. “ _I already have done so according to the lockdown protocol_.”

“Uncle Bruce?”

Bruce spun around and looked up to the top of the staircase where Peter had come out of his room and was leaning against the banister. “Peter, stay in your room!”

Right. God. Peter was here. Bruce swallowed as Peter hesitated then jumped as a loud _bang_ sounded on the door and scurried back to his room. The sudden noise brought Bruce’s attention back to the men outside too and he whirled around to face the door. The door was strong, it would hold up no matter how long they kept hitting it. They seemed to realize the same thing because after another second the banging stopped. The silence was more ominous by far and Bruce found himself wishing for the banging. “Do you have eyes on what they’re doing outside?”

“ _Yes, Sir._ ” A live image from a security camera out front was projected holographically in front of Bruce. “ _They appear to be trying to gain access through the front door_.”

Bruce tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he stepped over to take a closer look at the image. Four men were gathered around the other side of the front door, kneeling down with their heads bent together as if they were talking. Bruce could hear small scratching noises coming from outside now but he couldn’t make out exactly what they were through the reinforced barrier. “What are they doing?”

“ _I am unsure_.” Mere seconds after they had gathered the men jumped to their feet and ran down the front steps, away from the door. As they scattered Bruce could make out a small black box stuck to the front door near the doorknob. The image was high-definition but it was still hard to tell what it was. “ _They seemed to have set some sort of explosive device. Doctor Banner, I suggest that you go to Master Peter’s room and barricade the door_.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. “Y-yeah. Yeah, good idea.” Bruce never took his eyes off of the door as he quickly backed up to the staircase. He had been counting on the door holding until the authorities got here but it looked like that might not be an option. Which meant he had to handle it. Which was not good. He just had to keep calm and think. Keep calm, keep calm, keep—Oh hell.

As soon as Bruce made it into Peter’s room the little Wolf grabbed onto his sleeve, tugging anxiously on the fabric. “Uncle Bruce, what’s going on? Who is that? I heard JARVIS—“

“Shh. Come here.” Pulling him further into the room Bruce locked them both in before jamming a chair Peter had at his desk underneath the handle to hopefully buy them a little more time when—Bruce flinched and Peter let out a sharp cry as a loud _boom_ shook the house.

“ _They have gained entrance to the house._ ”

Bruce shook his head and pulled Peter further back towards his bed, his arm wrapped tightly around the boy’s shoulders. He could feel Peter trembling under his touch and did his best to maintain his composure. “Do what you can to slow them down!”

“ _Yes, Sir._ ”

As soon as the AI’s voice trailed off a sharp, high pitch whine filled the house. Peter let out a soft cry as Bruce winced from the piercing pitch but reached out and covered Peter’s ears with his hands. Over the noise, Bruce heard the intruders let out angry shouts but their footsteps continued to race through the first floor and a second later the whine shut off.

 “ _I’m afraid I can’t get the audio defenses to the proper frequency without doing damage to you and young Mater Peter as they are human._ ”

Bruce’s ears were ringing and he tried to shake his head to get his hearing back. Tony had undoubtedly programed the audio defenses to defend the house against Shifters. After all, a Shifter would be the most likely type of person to try and break in to the mansion. Why would a human even try it, knowing Steve Rogers, one of the most well-known Shifters, and his Pack, famous for their unprecedented success in both peaceful and violent SHIELD missions, lived there?

He didn’t know what other kinds of defenses Tony had programmed into the house but it was likely that they were all similarly designed to face a Shifter enemy. But their humanity had left them with big disadvantage in that Bruce was anything but. He would have to step in and be the house’s—and Peter’s--new line of defense. “Okay, new plan. Peter, hide.”

Peter’s hands tightened on his shirt and Bruce had to pry him off. His eyes were as wide as saucers and it made Bruce all the more determined to push him back towards his closet, the only place large enough for Peter to hide. “What are you going to do?”

“They’re human so I should be able to take them in my human form and hopefully just knock them all out.” He might not often use it but, just like the rest of the Pack, Bruce had advanced capabilities even in his human form. He just didn’t like to use them. It was true he had seen one of them carrying a handgun but hopefully he’d be quick enough to avoid being hit.

“ _Sir,_ ” JARVIS cut in and before Bruce could respond he had holographically projected an image of a military-grade rifle in the middle of Peter’s room, “ _I would strongly advise against it. My sensors are picking up high-powered automatic weaponry_.”

Bruce stared up at the ceiling then heaved a loud sigh. Right. Of course the pistol he saw wasn’t the only gun they had. They were clearly professionals and had come here with a purpose. His human form wouldn’t make it within twenty feet of them without being shot down. “Okay. New plan.”

Peter grabbed at him again but by then Bruce had successfully managed to corral him into his closet. “Uncle Bruce, wait—!”

They heard footsteps pounding up the staircase and Bruce began to unbutton his shirt with shaking fingers. “Stay hidden, Peter, but if I end up giving you the chance run as fast as you can out of and away from the house. Humans will never be able to catch you.”

He waited just long enough to Peter to give him a shaky nod in understanding before he pulled off his shirt and stepped away, back towards the entrance to the room. Bruce made sure that the door to Peter’s room was closed tight behind him before he let himself go. The sound of the humans storming inside the building fueled his rage and before he had time to blink his transformation washed over him like a tidal wave, his vision tunneled, and he felt himself slip away just as fur burst from his skin.

Howling through the transformation, the Wolf lurched up onto its hind legs, then raced down the hall from Peter’s room and leapt off of the balcony, completely bypassing the staircase as it leapt down to the first floor with a roar. It landed almost on top of two of the armed men and though they had just barely managed to dive out of the way their agility wasn’t enough to save them. With one quick swipe of its paws, Bruce’s Wolf sliced its razor-like claws at them, raking five deep gouges across their backs and splattering blood across the pale tile of the entry hall.

The other men, probably about a dozen or so altogether, raced back at the noise and the Wolf spun on them, its lips curling up and bearing its sharp teeth in a snarl. They stumbled back at the sight but then one of the men in the back fired a volley of shots straight at the Wolf’s chest and just like that all hell broke loose.

The men were trained—not for this, but for regular Shifters—and were just able to avoid his attack as the Wolf charged forward, falling down to run on all fours and snapping its jaws at anything that moved.

O~O

 “JARVIS…” Peter swallowed, trying to quiet the tremors in his voice as he peeked out from amongst his jeans, his fingers digging into the rough fabric. “…What’s happening?” He could hear muffled screams, gunshots, and roars through the floor and walls and the smell of blood was wafting up through the vents.

The AI responded quietly and Peter knew it was restricting his reply only to the speakers directed towards the closet. “ _Doctor Banner has shifted but there are more men coming into the house. I will do what I can to distract them._ ”

Peter held his breath and waited. But he didn’t have to wait long. Even from his hiding spot he could hear it as JARVIS began to play a recording of running feet, the speakers located throughout the house making it sound like someone was actually running down the halls. Then Peter heard the sound of his own voice playing alongside the footsteps calling for help. Peter’s mouth fell open and he cautiously poked his head out of the closet to listen. If he didn’t know any better he would say that it really was him out there.

He heard more shouts from outside his room but louder this time and he realized with a stab of horror that the men were upstairs. They were looking for him.

“Quick, the kid’s getting away!”

“Down the hall, move!”

A small, relieved smile flickered onto Peter’s face and he let himself breathe again. They were going away. JARVIS had really worked. It was like his Dad was here, making sure he was alright. They would chase his voice outside and with Bruce downstairs anyone who stayed would be—

“Wait! Stop!”

Peter slapped a hand over his mouth to keep in the gasp that had been about to burst out and dove back into the closet, pulling the door almost all of the way closed. No, no, no. They weren’t leaving!

O~O

Bruce’s Wolf’s ears perked up at the sounds emanating from upstairs but his eyes remained trained on the men still in front of him. A few bullets that had managed to nick his thick skin left its fur streaked with red but it hardly felt its wounds. There was bloodlust in its eyes made all the more potent with the need to protect the pup upstairs.

A few of the humans has slipped by the Wolf and he could hear them now on the staircase. “Wait! Stop!”

Another man who was holding his rifle out at the Wolf, ready to fire again, shouted back at him. “What? Just go and grab the fucking brat so we can get out of here! Radick is fucking dead!”

“So are Michaels and Korbel! There’s nothing we can fucking do about that! But this one,” he waved his gun at Bruce’s Wolf, “is not making a run for it too.” Bruce’s Wolf snorted and his lips curled up away from his canines as his ears flattened against his head. “The kid didn’t leave. Otherwise this guy would have chased after him. No, he’s guarding him. He’s definitely upstairs!”

The fur along the ridge of the Wolf’s spine bristled up as the man who had spoken and three others raced up the stairs. Knowing that’s where the cub was, the Wolf immediately gave chase, howling out a warning as it through itself at the stairs, its claws digging into the metal banister with a grating _screech_ as it clamored over the railing. 

The men had split up when they reached the upper floor but the Wolf followed the one that had headed down towards Peter’s room, its pace quickening as he heard the sound of a door being kicked in and then the sound of a scuffle. “Hey, no! Let me go! Uncle Bruce!”

The Wolf went charging in to the room with an angry roar and dug its claws into the side of the man who had pulled Peter from the closet. The man screamed and released Peter and the Wolf flung him to the side where he hit the wall of Peter’s bedroom with a loud _crack_.

Peter dove back into the closet and scrambled behind his clothes, clutching his shaking hands over his ears as he heard men screaming over the sound of snapping bone. But it wasn’t enough to drown it out or drown out the words of the men who raced in behind Bruce.

“What the hell?! They said this guy wasn’t going to be a problem!”

“Shit! That’s it! Get the ropes! Get everything!”

More people began to flood in and started to throw ropes around Bruce’s arms and neck. The Wolf howled and snapped the first few but then they managed to loop one over his front paws and throat and it seemed like it was getting harder for him to move. Peter whimpered and tried to bury himself further behind his clothes but then a man threw the closet door open and yanked him out. He was strong but he was human and Peter fought back as best he could, struggling and thrashing in his grip and they forced him out into the room again. “No! No, let me go! Let me go!”

His cries triggered another burst of energy in Bruce and the Wolf lunged forward, dragging the eight or ten men holding the ropes along with him as leapt with his jaw open for the man holding on tight to Peter. Before his teeth could close down on the man’s head, the humans holding the ropes yanked down hard and the Wolf slumped back. Then one of them pulled out a new kind of gun that Peter hadn’t seen before and aimed it straight at Bruce.

“What are you waiting for?! Shoot him, for fuck’s sake!”

Peter gasped and shouted. “No! _Uncle Bruce_!” But the Wolf didn’t hear him and before Peter could do anymore a large dart flew out and lodged itself into the side of Bruce’s neck. The Wolf jumped in surprised then tore it out when an angry howl. Before he could move though another dart hit the other side of his neck and then another one shot across the room and stuck in his shoulder. After the third dart hit whatever was in them finally starting working and the Wolf’s movements became wilder then groggier as it fought the effects.

As the men tugged on the ropes and forced the Wolf to stumble back down onto all fours the men that had a hold of Peter began to drag him from the room. Peter shouted and tears welled up in his eyes as he thrashed and kicked, trying to free himself but there were too many of them. He heard Bruce’s Wolf let out a plaintive, rumbling whine then the next thing Peter knew a black fabric bag was pulled over his head and he was carried out of the house and thrown into some sort of car. He cried for his Pop and his Dad but no one willing to help him was there to hear it as the car sped off.

O~O~O~O

There was no traffic and the taxi driver he had flagged down had been speeding the whole way but the drive from the hospital back to the manor seemed to take an eternity to Tony. When they pulled into the drive Tony barely took the time to throw two hundred dollars and muter “keep the change” before he practically kicked the car door open. Then Tony leapt out of the taxi and his heart jumped into his throat.

His front door was gone, the front façade of his house covered in black char with a smoldering hole were the door used to be. Pulling the scrub-like shirt the hospital had put on him tighter around his body, he raced up the front steps and rushed right through the destruction. Before he could even step across the threshold the smell of blood hit him like a tidal wave. It was so strong that he physically stumbled back and had to press his nose into the sleeve of his hospital shirt to keep from gagging.

Breathing through the thin fabric he pushed through and saw the tile of his entryway washed in red. There were two bodies sprawled across the floor and his heart sped up and he had to triple check that neither of them were someone he knew, nearly slipping in the puddles of blood around them. But no, he didn’t recognize them, just the slashes on their back. There was only one thing Tony knew of with claws that big.

God damn it…Where the hell were Peter and Bruce?

Raising his head, Tony grit his teeth and shouted, “Peter?! Bruce?”

There was no answer.

Cursing, he followed the humans’ scents and ran up the stairs as fast as his sluggish body would allow, grabbing so hard onto the handrail that his knuckles turned white as he pulled himself up the stairs. “ _Peter!_ Peter! Peter, can you hear me?

His heart dropped as the scents turned and headed towards Peter’s room. And there were more drops of blood, then a streak. Tony’s voice caught in his throat and he forced himself forward and threw himself at the doorway, trying but unable to prepare himself for whatever he might find inside.

And what he found inside was Bruce. The Wolf was slouched against the wall in the center of a mess of blood and gore, his face buried in red-stained hands.

Tony’s breath rushed out of him in a shaky gasp. “…Bruce!”

The beta looked up and his expression looked broken, his eyes unfocused and glazed. “Tony… I…I tried…”           Bruce’s shoulder’s sagged and his voice hitched as he spoke. He reached a shaking hand out, clearly desperate for any kind of comfort, and Tony moved forward and grabbed on to it, just as desperate for some way to ground himself.

This couldn’t be happening. This just couldn’t be happening.

“I’m sorry, Tony. I’m so, so sorry.” He sounded disoriented, like he was only half there.

Tony swallowed and shook his head. “Don’t blame yourself. This is my fault.”

“No, Tony—“

“This was supposed to stay between me and Hammer. I let it spiral out of control and now Peter is gone because of my mistake.”

Bruce didn’t have anything to say to that save for a small, disapproving noise so they sat in silence for a minute or an hour, it was hard for Tony to tell at that point. Time seemed to be stopped and simultaneous rushing by at light speed. He needed to do something but he didn’t know what. He didn’t know what he _could_ do. Peter was gone. His son was gone. Someone took his son.

Finally Tony shook his head, his hand squeezing Bruce’s. “I, I don’t know how to tell Steve.”  But he knew he had to call and he couldn’t make Bruce do it. Not with the beta looking so haunted.

So he pulled away and somehow found a phone. He didn’t remember getting it, just coming back into the room to lean against the wall next to where Bruce was sitting and dialing.

The phone rang and rang and rang and just when Tony was about to give up and try calling Natasha he heard a click and pulled the phone back up to his ear. “Steve.”

“ _Tony?”_

At the sound of his mate’s voice, Tony swallowed and slid down the wall so that he was sitting next to Bruce. The beta released a shuddering sigh and rested his head on Tony’s shoulder. “Steve, you need to come home.”

The tightness in Tony’s voice must have been audible even over the phone line because Steve was immediately concerned. “ _What’s wrong? What happened, Tony? Was there some sort of complication?”_

Complica--? Oh, his surgery. Right. Tony squeezed his eyes shut and ran his free hand over his chest. Less than two days off of the operating table and he had entirely forgotten about his heart. “No. It’s Peter. It’s Peter…God, Steve…”

The concern deepened in Steve’s voice. “ _What’s wrong with Peter?_ ”

“They got him.”

“ _Who?_ ”

Tony grit his teeth and ran a hand over his face and up through his hair. “Justin Hammer. Whatever mission you’re on, it’s all a fucking lie Hammer made up. I need you to come home.”

“ _Okay.”_ Thank god for Steve’s ability to stay calm. His tone had dropped with a deadly serious undertone but he kept his voice even and Tony knew that the other alpha was still in mission mode, just with a new objective. It helped Tony focus, the only thing that let him focus. _“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”_

“Where are you?”

“ _Natasha and I are in Atlanta_.”

“Get to the airport, I’ll send a jet that will be there by the time that you and Natasha get to the tarmac.”

“ _Don’t panic, Tony.”_ Tony didn’t have to worry about that. He was too numb to panic. _“I’ll be home soon_. _We’ll get Peter back_.”

O~O~O~O

After the call to Steve, something in Tony had been triggered and he found himself unable to stand still. Instead he dragged Bruce to his feet and together they shuffled around the house to start cleaning up the blood and bodies. Neither of them were at their peak so it took both of them to carry the small collection of bodies upstairs down to the first floor. When they lined them all up side by side there were five bodies altogether, all with deep slashing wounds that had cut through spinal cords or major arteries. Then Tony got to work on the blood. He got Dum-E upstairs and had him start working on mopping up the blood on the tiles in the foyer and went up to Peter’s room. One look around was enough to tell him that the walls could probably be cleaned and repainted but that the carpet wasn’t going to be salvageable.  So he started pulling out furniture then got to work ripping up the carpet before the blood could seep too far through the floor. He knew that he probably shouldn’t be straining himself after surgery but at the same time he felt like he was going to go insane if he didn’t keep his hands busy. Bruce had stumbled to his room to clean some of the blood off and Tony was pretty sure he had fallen asleep in the shower but decided to let him stay there. He hadn’t looked healthy.

According to the clock it took three hours and forty-nine minutes for Tony to hear a sound other than him dragging furniture around and tearing up strips of carpet.

“ _Tony?_ ”

Hearing Steve call his name, Tony dropped the roll of carpet he had been bundling up and hobbled out of Peter’s room and down to the stairs. Steve, still dressed in full mission gear, met him at the foot of the staircase and grabbed on tight to his shoulders. “Tony…”

Tony swallowed. It had been over four hours since Peter had been taken. Now that Steve was here they needed to figure out what to do _now_. Right now. Too many things could have already happened. He couldn’t begin to guess how far Hammer was willing to go anymore and not knowing scared him more than anything else. “Steve, Steve we need to go! We need to go now!”

His mind had started to race and he knew that he was starting to babble but he couldn’t stop until Steve was there pulling him into a tight embrace. “Tony! Tony, hey. I’m here now, we’ll figure it out.”

Snarling, Tony shoved the Wolf off of him. “I don’t need a fucking hug, I need Peter back!” Steve opened his mouth to reply but then Tony’s attention was caught by Natasha. Specifically what she was holding in her hand, the glint of white standing in glaring contrast to the black of her gear. It was a small flash drive, one he had never seen before and he knew it wasn’t hers. He would have noticed it because it was a newer piece of technology. Not Stark tech though. It was Hammer tech. “Wait, what is that? Where did you get that?”

The redhead met his gaze, her lips drawn tight. “It was in the mailbox.”

“Damn it!”

Bruce had woken up from all of Tony’s shouting and fumbled his way down the stairs as Steve and Natasha followed Tony down into his workshop. All three of them gathered around behind him as Tony pushed the flash drive into an open port on his computer. His fingers danced across the keyboard with practiced efficiency, moving so fast that Steve couldn’t keep track of what keys he was even pressing. Lines of programming text streamed down the screen as Tony worked his way into the file and Steve’s brows drew up in confusion. “What is it?”

Hissing, Tony worked his way through the file to try and identify exactly what was on it. “It looks like a link to a video connection.”

“Where’s it coming from?”

“I don’t know. I can start tracing the IP address but I can already tell that it’s being looped through a bunch of different servers to make it difficult.”

He caught Natasha crossing her arms over her chest as she stared up at the screen. “Open up the link.”

“Yeah, hold on…JARVIS, any viruses on this thing?”

“ _None that my sensors can detect, Sir_.”

The AI confirmed what Tony already thought from the code; it had all looked straight-forward enough but he wasn’t about to take any chances on this. Not when Peter’s life might be on the line. “Alright. Open it up.”

The screen flickered black then, after one of the longest seconds of Tony’s life, flickered back to life to show what looked eerie similar to Tony’s workshop. It definitely wasn’t the same room, weren’t his tools or his tech laying around, but it was a space clearly being used for similar purposes. Then Justin Hammer himself appeared on screen with that stupid shit-eating smile on his face and a hot rage flashed through Tony’s body. He wanted to kill him. Then he heard Steve let out a rumbling growl and knew he wasn’t the only one.

“ _Should I be insulted, Tony? You didn’t exactly get dressed up for me_.” Tony looked down at his clothes and buried a wince. He was still in his hospital clothes, little more than thin scrubs. But it didn’t matter. The only reason that he cared about it was it left him feeling exposed under Hammer’s smirking gaze. It showed that he was vulnerable. That he was damageable. It was nothing an alpha ever wanted an enemy to see, especially one that had launched such a devastating attack on his family.

But before he was even able to come up with a snarky comeback to save face Steve had stepped in front of him, shoulders braced and jaw set as he glared back at Hammer. “You’ve gone too far this time.”

Hammer sighed and glared back at Steve. “ _I didn’t think I was talking to you_.”

Tony definitely did not have the time for his bullshit today. “You have five seconds to tell me what you did to Peter.” Leaning forward, he slipped his hands back to the keyboard, knowing that it would be easier to trace location of the link when it was open.

“ _Ah uh, Tony._ ” Tony froze. “ _We don’t need you fiddling with the video feed while I’m talking…Get your hands up where I can see them_.” Cursing under his breath, Tony scowled as he slowly backed into center frame again. “ _There you go, get them up there. Hands behind your head_.”  Sneering, Tony made a point of raising his hands up over his head before tucking them behind his head.

A muscle in Steve’s jaw ticked but he swallowed down whatever threats seemed to be ready to slip out over his tongue. “Where’s our son?”

“ _He’s right here, and perfectly fine. For now anyway._ ”  

Tony snarled at his attempt at intimidation. “We want proof of life!” Those words almost caused him to choke but he knew they needed proof that Peter really was…really was still alive before they even thought about given into Hammer’s demands. It hurt to think about but if they had already done something to Peter, Hammer could forget about getting anything except an early death.

“ _Ever the businessman, Tony, am I right? Okay,”_ Hammer took a few steps back away from the camera and waved to someone off screen, “ _bring the kid in to say ‘hello’.”_

“ _Dad? Dad?!_ ”

Steve pressed up to stand next to Tony as Peter was dragged in front of the camera and he and Tony both drank in the sight. Peter looked pale and his eyes were red like he had been crying but Tony couldn’t see any signs of physical damage on him which was the only good thing Tony could say about any of this. “Peter, are you okay?”

They watched as Peter swallowed and tried to pull free of the men who were holding him in order to get closer to the camera. Tony heard Hammer laugh then the camera angle jerked and twisted around like someone was picking it up before it was dropped in Peter’s hands. From this distance Tony could see tear tracks on his cheeks even as the picture shook from Peter’s trembling hands. “ _Dad, Pop, I’m scared!  I wanna go home_!”

Steve nodded, his whole face dangerously neutral. “Stay calm, Peter. We’re going to get you out of there. It’ll be alright.”

“ _O-okay. But I—ah! No_!” The camera was wrenched from his hands, the image jerking around as Hammer took control over it again and directed it back at his face. Steve pressed his leg up against Tony’s behind the desk as the sound of Peter’s cries echoed back out through the speaker. “ _Dad! Pop!_ ”

“ _Shut him up, get him out of here_.”

“ _Let me go_!” Tony let out a low hiss as they heard Peter being dragged away, fighting to get back to the image of his parents and he wanted to kill Hammer all over again in even more painful ways.

Hammer had been looking back, as if watching his men take Peter away, before he turned back to the camera. “ _There, satisfied? I’ll tell you, that kid is a bit of a handful_.”

Tony’s hands clenched into fists and he just barely withheld a low growl. “You hurt one hair on his body and I swear to god I will kill you!”

“ _Such harsh words, Tony. Don’t get so worked up, it’s just business_.”

“Why you--!”

Steve cut off by resting a firm hand on his shoulder and stepped so that he was in the center of the screen. He was still virtually expressionless but there was a tightness about his eyes and jawline that Tony knew meant that his mate wasn’t just mad, he was really fucking pissed and hanging onto his control by the tips of his fingers. “I’m only going to say this once. If you return Peter to us now, unharmed, I’ll be willing to ask the courts to go easy on you. If not, I will hunt you down. There isn’t a place on Earth you can hide that I won’t find you. And when I do find you I will make sure that my teeth and claws are the last things you will ever see.”

And Hammer, the bastard, just laughed. He didn’t take either of them seriously which was just ridiculously stupid. He didn’t know the truth about what Tony was but he should have known better than dismiss Steve’s threat. “ _That’s cute. It really is. Tony, you should put a leash on your pet. How are we supposed to have a real conversation if the animals get to chime in_?”

Tony did growl then. How dare this son of a bitch talk about his mate that way? “He’s dead fucking serious and so am I when I tell you that you’ll regret this.”

“ _We’ll see. You know what I want, Tony. Make it happen in thirty-six hours or I’m going to have to start pushing the matter. And you really don’t want me to do that_.”

With that Hammer reached forward and the feed went blank. Tony slammed his hand down on the desk then spun around and released an angry shout. “That stuck-up, smirking bastard! I’m going to kill him!”

“Not if I get to him first.” Tony turned back around to see Steve pull out his phone. “Tony, you and Bruce see what you can learn from that link. I have a call to make.”

O~O~O~O

“ _I’m so sorry, Steve. Given the circumstances, I can’t keep this from Fury any longer. Before you or Tony do anything, please report to the SHIELD building as soon as possible._ ”

Steve snarled as he paced the length of the living room, his phone pressed tight against his cheek. Phil had sounded genuinely apologetic but that didn’t change what he had just said. “We don’t have that kind of time.”

“ _Unfortunately that wasn’t a request._ ”

“Phil—“

“ _You know I wouldn’t be doing this if I had a choice in it_.”

“Tony won’t be happy.”

“ _And he shouldn’t be._ ”

Scowling, Steve pulled the phone away and hung up on the SHIELD agent. He didn’t have it in him to be polite at the moment. He had called Phil to arrange for a new set of equipment and some back-up but he had instead been assigned a summons.

Storming back down to the basement, Steve looked up to find Tony and Bruce with their heads bent over the computer while Natasha hung back, her thumbs moving across the miniature keyboard on her phone. Steve gave her a look as he passed her and she spared him a glance. “I’m updating Clint and Thor.”

“Good. Tell them to get back as soon as possible. Tony,” the Cat grunted to show he was listening, “we need to go to SHIELD HQ.”

That really got Tony’s attention, his head bobbing up with a scowl twisting his lips down. “Like hell we do.”

Steve sighed and rested his hands on his hips. “If we don’t, I think they’ll come and get us.”

Straightening up, Tony growled and managed to look threatening even in his hospital clothes as he walked over to him. “I would like to see them try. I’ll dig my claws into their flesh.”

“Antagonizing SHIELD won’t help us get Peter back.”

Tony glared at Steve, pushing so close into his space that their noses were almost touching. Steve stared right back and finally Tony seemed to understand that Steve wasn’t going to give on this matter—that, as counter intuitive as it felt—neither of them could afford to. “Fine.” Pushing roughly past Steve, Tony marched back towards the stairs. “I’m going to change and then we’re leaving. Bruce, keep looking.”

O~O~O~O

The ride to the SHIELD offices was tense and Tony was pretty sure he broke about twenty traffic laws but Steve didn’t say anything in the passenger’s seat, just sat there with a hard look on his face and his arms crossed tight over his chest. When they pulled in, Tony pulled right up into the loading zone in front of the building and parked there, in no mood to go hunting for a parking spot and willing to pay whatever fine the city slapped him with if they ticketed him for it. They marched inside and the receptionist, who must have seen them both coming and going hundreds of times, actually looked a bit frightened and stammered out a room number.

Phil was there to meet them in the small conference room they had been directed to and he silently motioned for them to sit. The only reason Tony actually did sit was because he could feel himself growing tired—his body protesting after having laid still in a hospital bed then been forced into quick action—but Steve remained standing, positioning himself right behind Tony’s chair.

Phil watched them both for a moment before he sighed. “I want to apologize again that it had to come to this. But thank you both for coming. Director Fury will be here in a few moments to—“

Before Phil could even finish his sentence, the door to the meeting room flew open and Tony growled low in his throat and his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as Fury walked into the room. The human Director of SHIELD looked just as irate though and glared back. “Stark! Rogers! I can’t leave either of you alone for more than a week without one of you causing city-wide chaos.”

Steve bit back a snarl. If he was referring to the multiple attempts made on Tony’s life, that was hardly their fault. “Do you know what’s happening?”

Fury nodded but his expression didn’t change. “I’ve been informed.”

Leaning forward in his chair, Tony snapped back ,“Then you should know that every second that we’re in here could be costing Peter his life so what the _hell_ are we doing here?”

“You are here because it is my job to make sure that fools like you don’t ruin every bit of human-Shifter relations we’ve spent the last decade building up.”

Phil pursed his lips then murmured softly. “Sir—“

“Unless the next work is ‘you’re absolutely right, Director Fury’, I don’t want to hear it, Coulson. You are already on thin ice for not informing us about this situation before it got out of hand.”

Tony gripped the armrests of his seat and it looked more like he was holding himself down. “So you dragged us out here to tell us what exactly?”

Narrowing his eyes further, Fury took a step closer and Steve instinctually tensed up, his body ready for a fight. “To tell you _not_ to do whatever you’re thinking of doing. You are not going after Hammer yourselves.”

“But he--!”

“I know what he did but the last thing SHIELD needs is for our agents to go tearing up a human billionaire. I would have thought that out of anyone you two would’ve understood that we are still not on the best of terms with the public. Do you really think that an incident like that could just be swept under the rug? This whole organization has been struggling to keep our feet ever since that clusterfuck with Hydra and that lunatic Schmidt. If the media gets wind that we lost control of one of our senior operatives they will start circling like vultures and I will not have the two of you ruin nearly a decade of negotiations and planning by running off and playing vigilante. Do I make myself clear?”

Something in Steve writhed to get loose at Fury’s domineering tone but he stamped it down. There had to be something they could say to make this work. They had no other option but to go after Peter so they had to make this work. Forcing a growl from his tone—knowing it wouldn’t win him any favor here—Steve tried for the traditional approach. Among Shifters there were certain unspoken rules of conduct and what had happened definitely violated a number of them. “Hammer took our cub, from our home. That gives us the right to do whatever it takes to—“

Fury interrupted him before he could even finish. “If Hammer were a Shifter maybe— _maybe—_ you would have. SHIELD and the law tend to ignore inner-Shifter conflicts if they keep it to themselves. But guess what, Hammer’s human. So people will actually care.”

“That is it!” Everyone in the room started as Tony suddenly leapt to his feet, his eyes burning with anger as he threw back his chair and lunged straight at Fury, claws forming on his hands as he started to shift. If Steve had moved fast enough he could have stopped him but some small part of him lacked the motivation to do so and he grasped the air where Tony had been a second too late. But then Phil was moving and instead of moving to stop Tony he was jumping in front of Fury instead.

Steve let out a worried shout and he saw Tony try to reverse his transformation, to turn back into his human form but before he could he had slammed right into Phil. There was a spatter of blood and the man let out a muffled cry and he shuddered and collapsed against Tony.

The whole thing had happened in less than a second but time seemed to have stood still as Tony’s eyes grew wide. “Phil! God, I—I didn’t mean...!“

Steve’s eyes were locked on Phil as the man blinked up at Tony, a small, pained smile on his face as he moved to clutch a hand to his chest where Tony had cut four scratch marks through his suit.  None of them noticed that Fury had whipped out a small gun from underneath his trench coat but then there was a loud _pop_ and Tony dropped to the ground, Phil falling too with a surprised shout as the Cat hit the floor.

It was Steve’s turn to lunge forward then as he leap to his mate’s side, pulling him up into his lap as Phil pushed himself up, the man’s face white. “Sir!”

Growling, Steve checked Tony over with trembling hands, only able to breathe again when he saw Tony’s eyes flicker open. “What did you do to him?” His words rushed out in a dangerous snarl. After coming so close to losing Tony not a week ago it just, when he saw Tony fall, it had just been too much too soon. Not with Peter missing.  

“Just a tranquilizer dart. You’re lucky that’s all after he assaulted a SHIELD agent.”

Steve’s eyes flashed as he lifted Tony’s arm to see a dart embedded in his side and pulled it out the crushed the glass cylinder in his hand. “He’s still recovering from heart surgery!” He wasn’t all the way healed yet! Who knew what might trigger another one while he was recovering?

“Maybe he should have thought of that before he slashed a hole in a senior agent.”

At the sound of the commotion other SHIELD agents had rushed in to assess the situation and Fury waved back to them. “Escort these two outside. Rogers, Stark, consider yourselves on leave until further notice.”

The agents slipped in passed Fury but when they moved to haul Tony up, Steve snapped at them and tightened his grip around his mate. “Don’t touch him.” His instincts were flaring and he felt like he would tear into anyone who tried to lay a hand on the Cat. The agents looked to Phil who nodded and they took a step back, helping him up instead.

Tony groaned as Steve gently began to pull him to his feet. “Ugh…Steve?”

Steve’s tone gentled as Tony flailed a bit, trying to get all his limbs working again. “Easy, it’s just a sedative. Can you walk?”

“Just get me upright…” Steve did, holding Tony tight around his waist with one of the Cat’s arms pulled over his shoulder to help him keep his balance. Tony wobbled for a moment, as if he were fighting a bout of vertigo, before he tilted his head up. “You’re a…Where’s he?” Disoriented, Tony’s eyes swung around the room until they landed on Fury. “You’re a dick.”

Steve couldn’t have agreed more.

O~O

By the time they got home Clint and Thor had gotten back and were waiting up with Natasha and Bruce. All three of them jumped to their feet as Steve and Tony walked in. The car ride back had given Tony’s body the chance it needed to burn through the rest of the sedatives so he was able to hobble inside on his own but flopped down into an open seat between Bruce and Clint.

Steve could tell they were all waiting for instruction and he shook his head, wishing he had something better to tell them. “Fury put Tony and me on leave with a direct order to stay away from Hammer.” Thor grumbled out a low protest and Clint swore darkly under his breath, even the Hawk’s usual levity wiped away by the news. “Bruce?” His Beta picked up his head and met Steve’s eyes with his own tired gaze. “Were you able to track that link to a physical location?”

The other Wolf shrugged. “I got it down to within a ten mile radius but it seems to be out in the middle of a rural area so I couldn’t get it any closer than that.”

“That’s fine. I have one more phone call to make. But everyone, suit up and get whatever gear you have together. We’re leaving as soon as I’m done.”

Thor had leapt to his feet before Steve even had time to finish and Natasha tilted her head, her expression not judging, just assessing. “You’re going to go against a direct order from Fury?”

Steve paused then nodded. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get Peter back. You don’t have to come if you feel that’s not something you can do, Natasha, and I would respect that.”

“No,” the Spider rose to her feet, “I’m coming. I just wanted to remind you of the consequences.”

He nodded his thanks and watched as the rest of the pack hurried out of the room to prepare and Tony moved into the kitchen muttering that the only gear he needed was an espresso. As soon as they were all out of the room Steve had his phone back out and was dialing a familiar number and his last chance of support.

“Hello, Peggy? It’s Steve.”

“ _Hello, Steve_.”

The complete lack of surprise in her voice told Steve that she had been expecting his call. “You heard what happened.” It wasn’t a question. He knew she had. About a month after they had adopted Peter Steve had realized that she held the position of Assistant Director within the SHIELD organization. He had figured it out entirely on accident, he had just been trying to look up her office at the front desk so he could stop by and say a quick ‘hello’.  He’d been…surprised, to say the least, and a little frustrated that she hadn’t told him earlier. But he wasn’t mad. They had talked about it afterwards and she had explained why she had kept him from him: because she was afraid that he would think that she had held too much sway over his life. It made him wonder just how many opportunities she had opened up for him in the past but he didn’t begrudge her for any of it. He knew that only he had ever decided what to do with his life and that every decision he had made had been so on his own free will.

He heard her sigh. “ _Yes, I’ve heard. And I can guess why you’re calling.”_

“I need to know if there’s anything you can do. Peggy, you know I wouldn’t be asking this of you if I didn’t need to.”

“ _I’m so sorry, Steve.”_ He could hear the regret in her voice as she spoke and it sounded like it hurt her to say the words she had to say. _“Coulson came to me before he contacted Fury asking the same thing but there isn’t anything I can do other than offer my personal assistance_.”

“If…I asked you to look the other way…to not ask any questions, could you do that?”

There was a long pause before she finally responded. “ _If we are speaking in the hypothetical, I could. But in the scenario you are creating I would also worry about your safety, assuming that you would be acting without the protections offered by SHIELD_.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be going in alone.”

There was another long pause before Peggy spoke again. “ _I know you, Steve. And I know when you’re set on a certain task. And I know when there is little I can say to sway your opinion on the matter. So, although it goes entirely against my desires, I am going to hang up so that I do not hear any more about it. But before I let you go know that if things spiral out of hand call me and I will come for you, no matter the consequences. I am certain Coulson feels the same_.”

“I understand, and I don’t hold anything against you. We’re each doing what we have to. But thank you. Good-bye, Peggy.”

“ _Good-bye, Steve. Stay safe_.”

“You too.”

Ending the call, Steve looked up to find Tony leaning in the doorway, a mug of hot coffee in his hand. “What did your girlfriend have to say?”

Steve ignored the girlfriend comment. Tony and Peggy were friends and he knew Tony had only said it to try and relieve some of his own stress. He couldn’t blame him. “We’re heading out by ourselves.”

“Alright.” The Cat glanced up. “JARVIS? You get that? Have everyone meet us in the garage. It’s time to get this party started.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Another bit of a wait for this chapter; sorry about that folks! I knew I say this from time to time but real life is extremely busy right now. But I wanted to make sure to get this chapter out today as a Happy Cap 2 Movie Day present! Whoo! I’m 6 minutes late but shhh…
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter!! You folks keep me going!

Peter had no idea where he was. All he knew was that wherever they had taken him it was a long ways away from his house because it felt like they had driven for hours. After his phone call with his parents he had been taken to a round empty room where the only light was coming down from a skylight up on the ceiling but it was almost dark out so it was hard to see anything. Anything except for a weird thing sitting in the middle of the room that looked like a—Peter’s eyes widened as they dragged him over to the weird box made up of wires and metal bars. It looked like a cage because it was one.

He yelped as the guards roughly pushed him inside and slammed the door shut behind him. A whimper burst out of Peter as his head banged on the metal bars and he pushed away from them to crouch in the middle of the cage as the guards made sure the lock would hold before leaving the room and leaving Peter alone. The cage was small and it was so dark that it was difficult to see. But he could tell the cage was small, just tall enough for him to sit up straight, and it was cube-shaped so not big enough for him to lie down. He felt cramped and trapped and he didn’t want to be here. He wanted his dads!

Wiping his hands over his face, Peter winced as his eyes dried and adjusted to the light filtering in through the grimy skylight. There was a bird flying in circles overhead, just barely visible through the dirty plastic. Probably a vulture. Peter grunted and closed his eyes. It was a few hours too early. But just seeing it made him miss Clint. It even made him miss Loki.

Peter’s eyes flashed opened again and he stared hard at the bird. It was impossible to tell how big it was but now that he really looked at it there was no way it was a vulture. Or a hawk. But even from where he was sitting he could see the sunlight glinting off of sleek, black feathers.

Hope sprang up in his chest and he watched as the bird circled a few more times before landing on the roof next to the skylight. The bird tilted his head and cawed once and Peter blinked back and tears pricked his eyes. Reaching up, Peter grabbed at the bars on the top of the cage but before he could try and catch its attention the bird seemed to startle and flew away as fast as it had come.

A small, choked noise burst past Peter’s lips and he slumped back down, gathering his legs up close to his chest and burying his face against his knees, feeling more alone than ever. He had thought that maybe, maybe someone was coming to get him. But what if they didn’t? What if they didn’t know where he was or couldn’t find him? His whole body started to shake at the thought and he bit his lip to try to stay quiet as tears rolled down his cheeks.  He wanted to go home! He didn’t want to be here anymore!

Sniffling, he shook his head. If he could shift, if he could just shift he might be able to squeeze his way out through the bars or force his way out through the top. Maybe he’d be strong enough to break out. He had seen his Pop and Uncle Bruce shift. Uncle Bruce was special but they were both so strong. If he could just shift he should be able to bend the bars and run.

Peter closed his eyes and tried to feel the Wolf inside of him. It was there. He just had to bring it out. All he had to do was—Peter winced as his muscles pulled tight around his chest then gasped as his rib cage expanded, bent, then snapped back into place. It wasn’t working. It shouldn’t be that hard! He couldn’t remember shifting, but there was a faded memory in his head about being little in his Wolf form and looking up and seeing flashes of his Aunt and Uncle’s faces. If he could shift as a baby, he had to be able to shift now.

Sucking in a deep breath, Peter tried again, focusing everything he had on pulling his Wolf out. “Come on, come on! Aghh!” A sharp scream burst from his lungs as his ribs cracked and bent again and every soft part of his body seemed to cramp up as the rest of his bones began to change. Then he felt something in his legs and arms split, like, like it was forming eight legs instead of four, and he panicked.

 As soon he lost control the pain intensified so much that he couldn’t even breathe, he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t even smell. All he could feel was his heart pounding so fast in his chest he thought it was going to blow, just like his Dad’s before his eyes rolled back in his head and he everything went dark.

.

Peter sucked in large gasps of air, tears blinding him as sapped back awake and he shuddered. It hurt. It hurt really bad! It felt like he had broken every bone and muscle in his body at the same time. Curling in on himself, he shook so hard it made his teeth rattle and futilely tried to make the quivering stop.

The pain subsided slowly but it left him sore and achy and he couldn’t bring himself to fight against it as another man came in and pushed a needle into his arm to draw blood. The man left quickly, not taking the time to tell Peter what all that blood was for before he turned around and walked out.

After that it was quiet for a long time. The skylight started to turn dark and soon he could barely see at all, his eyes struggling to adjust to the barely-there light of the moon seeping in through the dirty plastic panel in the ceiling. The only thing that finally lulled Peter to sleep was his exhaustion and absolute stillness of the room around him.

Peter slept fitfully and started awake from a nightmare with a small yelp and almost banged his head against the top of the cage as he tried to jump up. The impact scared him and he called out for his dads only to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. Tears pricked at his eyes again but Peter squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He didn’t want to act like a baby. His Pop had said that he had to stay calm so he was going to try. His Pop was never wrong so maybe if he stayed calm things would be okay.

He still jumped as he heard a door screech open and footsteps echo out from the next room and his heart pounded in his chest as he pressed himself back against the wall of the cage, the metal bars cold as they dug into his back. It was only then that he realized that it had gotten brighter in the room and that it must be morning. The pale light allowed him to see who it was who was coming in just as his nose caught their scent. It was that man who smirked a lot, who his Dad had called Hammer.

Peter hunched up his shoulders as Hammer sauntered closer. Part of him wanted to curl up on himself but the other part stubbornly refused to do so. With his Pop’s advice in his head, Peter wanted to act just like his Pop would so he stayed where he was and glared at the human as he crouched down next to the cage. The man didn’t look like he would be able to reach through the bars so hopefully he would be alright.

Hammer just looked like he had seen something funny as he stared back at Peter and finally spoke. “Sorry I can’t offer you better accommodations but I can’t exactly risk having you run all over the place, can I? It was pretty obvious to my men that you were a Shifter from the way you fought them off back at Tony’s place so I had to make some last-minute additions to the room.”’

Peter swallowed thickly and sniffed the air in front of him again. Hammer didn’t smell scared or even anxious, just sort of happy and it made Peter tense up. If Hammer was happy that wasn’t good for him. He didn’t know if he was supposed to say anything or not so he just glared back, afraid that if he said the wrong thing he’d get hurt. He was so little when Hydra took him that he couldn’t remember a lot but he did remember that it had hurt and he didn’t know if Hammer was the same type of person or not.  He was still so sore from trying to shift that he didn’t want to hurt more.

Hammer took his silence in stride. “So I sent someone in here to take a blood sample so we could figure out exactly what you were. Imagine my surprise when the results came back. It was like an early Christmas!” Peter started as Hammer clapped his hands together and his smile widened. “See, I thought that you were just some Wolf runt Tony picked up for charity, or at worst some bastard kid of his boyfriend. But, no, it is so much better! You, my friend, are a freak among beasts. Wolf _and_ Spider DNA? Who could have dreamed of such a thing? No wonder Tony has kept you buried from the public! You are absolutely side-show material.”

Some of the blood drained from Peter’s face and he wanted to cry again. But he didn’t. It was close but he didn’t and shook his head instead. “I-It’s not my fault. I didn’t do it.”

Hammer snorted. “Uh, yeah, I figured that one out, unless you’re the world’s youngest biochemist. But whoever did do it was a genius, like a real-world Dr. Frankenstein. Which would make you the Monster. If Tony doesn’t come after you I might just have to take you back to my laboratory and have them dissect you to see what makes you tick. Technically we’re not working on anything with Shifters but who could pass up an opportunity like this?”

Tensing up at the word dissection, Peter narrowed his eyes again as some of his fear hardened into anger at the idea that his Dad wouldn’t come for him. His dads would always come for him. They saved people, that was his Pop’s job, and they were both going to save him. “My dads are going to stop you! They’re gonna come get me!”

“They might try. But I’ll have a little surprise waiting for them. You see,” Hammer smiled in a way that made a shiver curl down Peter’s spine, “I rigged this baby myself. All I have to do is press this button and _boom_! There will be little bits of baby Monster everywhere.”

Peter jumped back as Hammer waved his hands to emphasize the blast. He now noticed the wiring twining up the outside of the cage’s bars, leading to a black box mounted on the top side with a little green light on it, an unlit red light next to it. Seeing Peter flinch, Hammer laughed again before patting the outside of the cage and moving to stand back on his feet. “Hopefully it won’t come to that. The clean-up would be a mess. In the meantime though, just settle back and try to relax. I’ll let you know if Tony decides to come pick you up.”

Peter wanted to say something brave or smart as the man left but all his words stuck in his throat as he watched Hammer turn around and walk out of the room.

O~O

Peter didn’t know how many hours had gone by but it was still light outside when something else broke the eerie silence that had settled over the room. It took a second for him to place where the noise was coming from but after a minute he tilted his head and stared back up at the skylight. He couldn’t see anything there but there was a hard tapping sound from the roof right beside it.

Tilting his head, Peter decided that he should wait to figure out what it was before he spoke. It might be good but it might be bad. So far all of the people Hammer were with seemed to be human and this didn’t sound human but he wasn’t sure.

The tapping noise grew louder before something sounded like it snapped and a second later the skylight tilted up and opened just wide enough for a black shape to squeeze through. It was the bird he had seen earlier and now that he could see it well enough there was no doubt it was a Raven far too large to be a normal animal.

The bird swooped down and landed deftly on top of Peter’s cage, its talons wrapping around the thick metal bars. Peter stared up at it as it cocked its head to the side then bent down to peck at the wiring leading to the bomb Hammer had pointed out. Sucking in a gasp, Peter surged up and gripped the bars next to where the Raven was standing. “No, wait, it might…!”

Peter’s warning died on his lips as the Raven plucked at a wire casing with the edge of its beak until it cut through the thin plastic cover then nipped at the wiring inside. Feeling hopeful since the bomb hadn’t already blown up, Peter still held his breath as the Bird snapped at the rest of the wires and didn’t exhale until he heard the faint hum of an electrical current fall silent and the little light on top of the box flickered out.

The next thing he knew there was a ruffle of feathers and pale human hands reached out and snapped the mechanism on the outside of the cage that kept it locked. It hadn’t been made to withstand the strength of a Shifter from the outside. The loud sound of the lock breaking made Peter jump but soon the door to his cage was swinging open and he tumbled out.

Loki caught him before Peter hit the floor and held him upright until Peter was able to regain his balance and straighten up. Peter gasped as he fell into the older Shifter’s arms, the unusual sensation of being supported by the Raven making him scramble to right himself faster. Loki let out a low laugh as Peter did so. “Here now, little one. Do not be afraid. I am here to help.” Standing up on his own, Peter gave Loki an uncertain look and the Bird quirked a brow. “You don’t trust me.”

Peter bit his lip then shook his head. His Dad didn’t trust Loki and even Pop was careful around him. That was enough to put Peter on guard. He was better than Hammer though, that much Peter was sure of.

Loki smiled again and patted his shoulder. “That is wise of you. But my intentions are to free you so it would be in your best interest to cooperate.”

“Where’re my dads?”

He tilted his head as he pulled Peter further away from the cage. “On their way, I suspect. I took the liberty of following you when you were taken from your home.”    

A sense of relief rolled through Peter when the Raven said that they were on their way and that he had been watching all along. He hadn’t been able to help him not get caught but he was here now and that was enough. It was enough because he wasn’t alone anymore. Loki froze up as Peter threw his arms around the older Shifter’s neck in a tight hug. “Thank you!” Peter could feel himself shaking again but he didn’t care. He was so scared and even seeing Loki felt like the best thing in the world. He was the _last_ pack member Peter could have wished to find him but he was familiar and he smelled a little like Thor and home.

It took a long moment for Loki to react and when he did he carefully reached up and pried Peter’s hands off of him, holding onto them for a moment as if he didn’t quite know what to do before lowering them back down to Peter’s sides. “Do not thank me yet, do so after we escape. This would be much simpler if you were five years younger but I am afraid you are too heavy to fly the both of us out again.”

Some of Peter’s joy left him but he was still more hopeful than he had been for hours. “Can you get us out another way?” He knew Loki wasn’t as strong as his dads but he was smart and sneaky and Peter knew those things were important too.

“That is what we are both about to discover.” Some of the color drained from Peter’s face and he scrambled to follow as the Raven turned and moved quickly over to the door he had been brought through. Loki checked back to make sure Peter was behind him. “Stay close, little one. I will not be able to keep both of my eyes on you.”

Peter nodded and immediately inched closer. He didn’t like being babied but he knew better than to fight against this and it actually felt kind of nice to be babied right now, even by the Raven. The door out had been left unlocked, probably because they never expected that he would be able to get out of the cage in the first place. He let Loki go out first but stayed close on his heels as the lithe man slunk out. For the first minute they didn’t encounter anyone. The scent of human was so thick in the air from all their coming and going that it was impossible for Peter to tell how close or far they might be. He could see Loki’s eyes flashing about and gave in to relying on watching the older Shifter.

The first man they came across didn’t know what hit him. Peter turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut as Loki silently stepped up behind the human and coolly reached out and slapped a hand over the large man’s nose and mouth. He struggled but Loki was stronger and held on tight to the man until he stopped fighting. Peter couldn’t see it but he could hear it as his boots stopped scuffing on the hard floor and the sound of the fabric on his clothing stop moving. Peter only then glanced back and saw Loki lowering the human to the ground.

“I-is he, is he dead?”

The Bird glanced over at him but had already started to walk again as he answered. “He us just sleeping. He will be fine in an hour or so.”

Peter knew Loki lied but didn’t want to check if he was telling the truth or not so he skirted around the body without looking down. He just kept his eyes on the Raven’s back as he led him further into the building, towards the way he came. “Won’t that Hammer guy find us?”

“I almost wish he would but unfortunately he has left for the day.”

“Really? Were you watching?” He suddenly had so many questions that he wanted to know if Loki could answer. When had Hammer left? Where did he go? Why did he go? Did it have to do with him or his dads? “Whe—?”

“ _Hey!_ ” Peter cut himself off with a gasp as a sharp shout echoing down the hall from the direction they were moving in. His eyes snapped to the sound and saw three men racing towards them. He wasn’t worried until he saw that they had guns. And they sounded angry. “Stop where you are and get on the ground!”

Letting out a yelp, Peter reached out and tugged on Loki’s hand as he kept striding forward. “Wait, he said stop!” What was Loki doing? He was going to get hurt and then Peter would be alone again!

The smile that spread across Loki’s face at Peter’s words was frightening, the Raven’s eyes narrowing in anticipation. “I am aware. Just stay behind me, Peter.”

The human male in front of the others raised his gun up and pointed it straight at them. “This is your last warning, freak! Down on the ground, now!”

Peter looked over at the men then at Loki with wide eyes, his heart slamming in his chest, but before he could decide what to do he heard the gun go off.

Moving impossibly fast, Loki threw himself over Peter and shielded him from the gunfire, ducking out of the way to avoid the bullets himself. Then, just as quick, he pushed himself up and yanked Peter back onto his feet and they were running back the way they came. Easily outpacing the men, they were quick enough that they were both able to dodge the next round of shots but just barely. Peter shouted as he felt a whiff of air skim over his hair and scrambled to catch back up with Loki as he gracefully slid into the room with the cage and slammed the door shut.

After he pulled a low table over to brace the door, Loki herded Peter to the center of the room, back towards the cage. Peter instinctively shied away from the cage but let the Raven pull him forward until he was standing in the small patch of light drifting down from the ceiling. “Can you get the skylight open?”

Peter looked up at it. It wasn’t too high up. “Y-yes?”

“Do it.”

Nodding, he clamored up on top of his cage so that he was a little taller then carefully aimed and shot a web up at the center of the skylight and tugged hard. The skylight creaked but then Loki grabbed onto the web too and together they pulled the skylight out of its frame and down to the floor. It let out a loud bang as it hit the ground. By now the men who had been chasing after them were knocking on the far side of the door and Peter heard them begin to shout at each other at the sound of the skylight crashing down. Biting his lip, Peter turned back to Loki. “What now?”

“Now you run.”

“What?”

“Go! Run south, towards the road. I will keep them occupied for as long as I am able.”

“What about you?”

“Do not worry about me. Just go!”

Whimpering, Peter gave a shaky nod and obeyed. He shot another web up at the now empty hole in the ceiling and quickly climbed up it. After that, it was easy to pull himself through the square opening, his hands sticking tight to the building’s metal roof as he wiggled his way up. As soon as he pulled his legs through he heard the door to the room below give as the humans finally managed to get through. Peter’s heart leapt up into his throat as more gunshots rang out and he wondered if Loki would be alright. He always was. He would be, wouldn’t he?

All of Peter’s thoughts snapped back to getting away as an angry voice called up after him, “ _He’s escaping on the roof! Get someone up there now_!”

Peter scrambled up onto his feet then took off across the roof. The building was long and flat with nothing around but tall trees and he didn’t know where he was supposed to go! What did Loki say? East? Which way was east? He was panicking, knowing he’d be found for sure if he just stood there.

So he ran.

Even on the slippery roof he was running far faster than any human would have been able to but there were a lot of them and they had already gotten a head start. They must have heard the other man’s call because some of them were already climbing ladders up on the roof ahead of him. Not all of them had guns but a lot of them didn’t look like they needed them. Like the guy who suddenly launched himself so he was standing right in front of Peter; he was easily as tall as Pop was.

Peter skittered to a stop as the man gave him a frightening smile. “Where do you think you’re going, little monster?”

Swallowing, he put his hands up in front of his face and tried to make himself smaller. Wait, he was supposed to be brave, right? Like his dads? He could do this. He could! Taking a short breath, Peter straightened up and moved his arms like he had seen Natasha do when she was training. “G-get out of my way!”

The man’s smile only grew. “You’re stupid but you’ve got guts. I know you can’t shift anymore. Maybe you’re a little strong but you’re still just a punk kid. Now you get down on the ground before I get the chance to do some damage.”

Peter started in surprise then threw his hand forward and shot a web right at the man’s face. It hit with such force that it knocked the man back onto his butt and Peter could hear his muffled scream as he clawed at the web covering his eyes, nose, and mouth. Peter watched in horror, glued to the spot with wide eyes. He had never aimed it at a person before. Could he, could he breathe? Was he going to die?

Peter’s question was answered as the man screamed again and then managed to tear at the webbing just enough to open up a small cut in the sticky fibers and let air through. Jumping as the man gasped for breath, Peter yelled and shot another web out, trapping the man against the roof in a tangle of limbs. The more he struggled against it the more caught up in the web he seemed to get but Peter didn’t wait around to see if he was going to be able to get out of it. Instead he ran again.

But instead of continuing on straight, where more men were ready and waiting for him now, Peter dove to the right, ran a few steps, and jumped. It was about a ten foot drop but he landed safely, a soft grunt knocked out of him as he hit the ground, rolled, then scrambled back to his feet. The only thing standing between him and the trees now was a concrete wall. If he had been human he would be stuck but he had been doing more complicated exercises than that since he was four years old.

Peter could hear the men racing after him and ran faster still. He had to go where they couldn’t follow. Launching himself at one of the walls, Peter stuck fast and began to climb hand over hand straight up the vertical concrete wall. He heard someone shout out in surprise behind him but didn’t stop to see the shocked look he knew must be on their faces, worried that they would go get the ladders they had used to get on the roof.

When he reached the top of the wall, there was a sea of trees in front of him and instead of jumping down, Peter shot out a strand of web to a thick tree trunk and swung off from the wall. The next few seconds was a blur of branches and leaves as he slung web after web, desperately trying to get further and further away while at the same trying not to get torn up by the trees.  It didn’t take long before the leaves got too thick and he started getting more and more scratched up by twigs and branches, forcing him to fall back to the forest floor.

And he kept running.

As he ran, he thought a couple times about Loki, if the Raven was alright. But he had heard stories about how Loki had escaped from not just his dads, but from Thor, Natasha, and Clint before. There was no way a bunch of people who weren’t even Shifters would be able to get him. He was too quick. Too sneaky.

For all the things Loki was, Peter was definitely not.

He ran and ran and ran but it started to get hard. With every step he took he stopped worrying less about Loki and more about himself. If he was going the right way, towards the road. He wasn’t sure. He should’ve run into it already. Right? Shouldn’t he have found it by now?

Tripping on a rock, Peter tumbled to the ground, twigs and sharp pebbles scrapping on his palms. A wet cough rolled up in his throat and he pressed his face against his sleeve, panting against the dirty fabric as he curled up on the ground. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know if he was heading south and it was already starting to get dark again!

He had never been out in the forest before; his backyard didn’t count. It wasn’t right that he didn’t know what to do. He was a Wolf, wasn’t this all supposed to be instinct? Wasn’t it supposed to be easy? Was he so messed up that he couldn’t figure it out? The smells were all wrong and he didn’t recognize anything. He couldn’t even see the moon and the stars, the sky was all clouded over. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was so tired. But if he stopped would they find him? Would they kill him?

Crawling over to rest a tree, Peter felt moss on the trunk as his hand slid over it and tried to think. His Pop had taken him for more walks than he could count in their backyard and told him a bunch of things about the woods as they hiked through them. But did he say that moss grew on the north side or the south side of stuff? Why didn’t he pay more attention? The one thing he remembered was that if he ever got lost his Pop had said that he should stay exactly where he was and wait for them to find him, which was the one thing he knew he couldn’t do now. He was no good at this nature thing! If he was in the city, he could just ask someone for directions.

Heaving a shuddering breath, Peter let his eyes close, just for a while. He was exhausted and his body felt like lead from his fingertips all the way to his eyelids. He just needed a little break. Then he’d start running again…

.

O~O

Frowning, Peter scrunched up his nose and nuzzled against his sleeve, his arm propped up under his head.

He was cold. Why was he cold?

Wait—

Shaking himself off, a jolt of fear ran through Peter when he realized he had dozed off. He pushed himself up onto his feet so quickly that it made his vision swim and he shook his head again to try and clear it and figure out what had woken him. The forest around him was quiet and dark though there was the barest hint of dark blue along one edge of the sky that Peter couldn’t tell if it was the sun setting or rising. But the change in light probably wouldn’t have woken him up. So, what ha—

Peter’s thoughts trailed off as the wind changed just so and a subtle scent reached his nose. It was familiar, but wrong…but what was it? Peter rested a hand on the tree he had slept against and scented the air again. He couldn’t quite get it.

“H-hello? Who’s there?” The scent was definitely canine, not a Wolf but…Frowning, Peter pushed himself up and away from the tree. “Pop…?”

There was a muffled growl from the bushes, the quick sound of crackling leaves, then a rustle behind him. Peter whipped around, his nose sucking in deep breaths of air with every inhale as the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He was being surrounded. He was being hunted, and not by humans. He must have been able to outrun _them_.

Swallowing down his fear, Peter growled warningly in his throat, though it sounded weak even to his own ears. The sound was answered by a deeper, more menacing snarl from the underbrush and Peter’s heart jumped up into his throat as a wolf stalked out from amongst the leaves. It looked so small and lean compared to his Pop but Peter knew that was because this wasn’t a Shifter. It was solely an animal and even if it lacked the strength and intelligence of a Shifter it would be able to tear him up. Especially because real wolves, like Shifter Wolves, usually traveled in packs. And Peter was their newest prey.

Peter’s instincts were all scrambled, his human and Wolf sides each telling him to do something different. His human side wanted to run but he knew that wasn’t smart. They would be able to catch him, especially because his legs barely felt like they could support his weight. So he went with his Wolf side. He knew he was a beta, he was young, and he was sick and injured. Slowly, cautiously, Peter lowered himself to the ground, whimpers slipping past his lips as he hunkered down, tucking himself into as small of a target as possible. He wasn’t submitting, he was begging them not to hurt him.

The one that had come though the foliage stalked closer and rustling behind him told Peter than other wolves were slipping out too but he didn’t dare turn around to look. He was shaking head to toe now and he could hear the first wolf coming closer. If they were hungry they would kill him and eat him. They might not even kill him first. Peter’s whimpers grew louder and more desperate and he squeezed his eyes shut as tears slipped down his cheeks. He didn’t want to get eaten.

His only warning before it happened was the sound of the first wolf’s claws digging into the ground before it leapt at him. Peter braced himself for pain but wasn’t prepared for the flash of gold that flew over him and slammed so hard into the wolf that the ground shook when they fell back down to it.

Peter gasped and jerked his head up to see an enormous gold Wolf tearing into the smaller grey wolf’s flank. “ _Pop!_ ”

There was a sharp snarl and five wolves rushed passed him and jumped at his Pop’s back and legs. The alpha thrashed and knocked some of them off and kicked out at another before lurching back enough to yelp at Peter. Peter didn’t need to be told twice; this was his chance to run. But as soon as he moved two other wolves turned their attention on him. His Pop tried to distract them but he was too bogged down with the rest of the pack to react fast enough.

Just like before, Peter knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun them but he knew he had to do something. If Pop was here the rest of the pack had to be close. He just had to be okay long enough for them to come. The whole time he was thinking, Peter’s eyes were looking around the woods for something, _anything_ to help, before he suddenly realized he was looking right at his answer. As the two wolves raced over, Peter turned on his heels and sprinted towards the nearest tree. Taking a quick breath, he shot a web out to the highest, thickest branch he could see and pulled himself up, grabbing hold of the branch and flipping around it like it was one of his practice bars in the Gym back home.

The wolves that had been chasing him leapt after him, snapping their jaws and growling as their claws scraped at the bark. But they couldn’t reach him. He heard his Pop let out an aborted, triumphant howl before the yelps and cries of the other wolves increased. Peter couldn’t see everything that was happening through the branches but he was able to see enough. And while his Pop was the strongest, there were so many wolves that they were able to bite and tear at his fur. Peter felt the fear that had washed away slowly build back up in his chest. What if the wolves bit him one time too many? What if something happened?

All of Peter’s “what ifs?” were extinguished immediately as a roar so loud that it shook the tree Peter was sitting in and echoed through the forest. Thor bounded into the small clearing a heartbeat later and dug his long curved claws into the side of a wolf that had attached itself to his Pop’s back. And Thor didn’t come alone. A second after Thor ran in, Clint and Natasha emerged from the trees in their human forms with their weapons drawn. As Peter looked over at them he could see Uncle Bruce hanging back amongst the shadows, a handgun clutched in one hand and a large bag in the other. But where was--?

“Peter!”

Peter’s gaze darted down to the base of the tree he was in to find that somehow his Dad had managed to get there without even him noticing. “Dad!”

O~O

Something in Tony’s chest healed at the sight of Peter looking frightened and exhausted but in one-piece. Maybe a little dirty and bruised but otherwise unharmed. Digging his fingers into the bark, he scrambled up the tree, climbing up hand over hand with a deadly grace. Tony hissed as one of the wolves leapt at his heels but he didn’t even have the chance to turn around before Steve was there, tearing into the wolf’s side with his front claws and biting down hard on its throat.

Knowing that his mate had it well in hand, Tony pulled himself the rest of the way up and gingerly rested himself against the large branch Peter was sitting on. He moved cautiously to look for any signs that the limb was going to give under its weight but it held its own and a second later he was tugging on Peter and pulling him into his arms. Peter had started to tear up and gripped onto him so tight it almost hurt but Tony wasn’t about to push him away.

“ _Dad!_ Dad...”

“Hey, it’s alright now. It’s alright. Come here.” Peter was a little big for this but Tony made it work and pulled the little Wolf close to his chest, always making sure to keep his balance against the tree. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

It didn’t take long for Steve, Thor, Natasha, and Clint to chase the wolves away. The ones that survived anyway. None of them were pulling any punches and just the noises echoing out from below told Tony that Steve was being particularly vicious. No surprise there. Tony would be down there himself happily tearing the animals apart if he felt it was even partially healthy enough to do it. People might think that Steve would have been lenient with a wolf pack since they were so familiar, but, at least under these circumstances, they couldn’t be more wrong. Anything that came between an alpha and their child was as good as dead.

He waited a few extra minutes longer than he needed to as the growls and yelps trailed off and could sense his pack scour the nearby woods to look from stragglers. But they must not have found anything because a few seconds later Steve walked up to the base of the tree in his human form. There were a few scratches and gouges on his skin but Tony knew they’d heal up quick. The alpha Wolf probably didn’t even feel them. Pulling Peter closer against him, Tony leaned forward so that he could see Steve’s face. “We good? Is it all clear down there?”

“Yeah…” Steve let out a breath, his blue eyes scanning around before nodding, “yeah, the ones left took off.”

Thor came up from behind him, his hands on his hips as he observed the damage around him. There was probably more than one dead wolf down there. “I do not believe they will be returning to this place for a long while.”

Tony snorted. “Good. Having Shifter Wolves around is enough. No one needs a stupider, bitier version around.”

The sight of Steve seemed to break down what little strength Peter had left, tears beginning to slip down his cheeks. “Pop…”

His broken whimper made both Tony and Steve’s eyes go soft and Steve reached his hands up towards them. “It’s okay, buddy. Come here.” Tony wanted to protest, wanted to say that he would just carry Peter down but he knew he wouldn’t be fooling anyone.  So Tony loosened his grip enough for Peter to give a little hop and jump into Steve’s waiting arms below.

Easily catching him, Steve pulled the boy against his chest and leaned down to bury his nose against the top of Peter’s head. Tony couldn’t blame him; he had been doing the same thing just a second ago. It was an alpha’s job—no matter the species—to protect and ensure the safety of those who depended on them. Steve and Tony had both failed Peter once but just holding him and inhaling his scent made all the difference in the world.

As Tony climbed back down the others gathered around, almost forming a barrier around Peter to protect him from any more danger and from the side of the bloodied pelts a few feet away. Bruce stepped in close, the bag he had been carrying already open at his feet. He urged Peter away from Steve just far enough to wrap a blanket around his small shoulders then passed him a water bottle and a peanut butter and banana sandwich. “Take small sips of water.  And I know it’s not your favorite but it has a lot of protein and vitamins in there.”

Peter didn’t really seem to care that it wasn’t his favorite and quickly grabbed the sandwich, taking big enough bites to tell Tony that Hammer hadn’t bothered to feed him. The dick. Steve glanced over at him as Tony felt his temper rising, probably scenting his anger in the air and stiffly shook his head. This wasn’t time to get angry. This was about making sure that Peter was alright. By now Bruce had his first aid kit out and was checking the boy over for injuries, cleaning and patching some small scrapes on his arms and face. Steve seemed completely oblivious to his own wounds, his focus entirely on his son. “Are you okay, Peter? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Peter shakily shook his head and tried to talk around his sandwich. “…I’m okay.”

Steve didn’t look convinced until Bruce glanced up and nodded. “He’s okay, Steve.”

There seemed to be a shared breath of relief shared between all of them. Then Natasha tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes curiously. “What were you dong out here?”

Peter gave a weak shrug. “I was trying to find the highway.”

Tony shared a look with Steve but it was Clint who broke the news and pointed back over his shoulder. “Kid, the highway is about fifty miles that way.”

Peter hung his head though he seemed too relieved to be truly ashamed. “I got lost.”

Tony didn’t want to think about what could have happened if they hadn’t been able to find him. Peter could have been wandering out here in the wilderness for days by himself. A series of terrible scenarios, each more horrifying than the last, flashed through his mind and he physically shook his head to try and clear it. He couldn’t think like that. Peter was okay. Peter was okay now. But he did have a question. “How did you escape? I figured Hammer would have had you locked up?” Tony was trying not to compare all of this to when he had been kidnapped as a teen. He had been abused far more than Peter had—and thank fucking god Peter hadn’t had to go through anything like that—but Tony had an advantage in that he had been able to shift. It had almost ended up killing him, but it was his Cat form that had allowed him to break out and run.

Peter nodded and spoke after taking a long sip of water. “He did. But then Loki found me and let me out.”

A bright, prideful smile lit Thor’s face as Tony started in surprise. “Loki did? He must have been here all along.”

Steve managed a smile at the happiness in Thor’s voice but it faded quickly, the Wolf still too tense from the last few days to hold the expression for long. “Do you remember which direction you came from, Peter?”

“Um…No. No, I’m sorry, I…I got lost.”

Steve met Tony’s eyes and Tony sighed, knowing what Steve was about to say before he fully opened his mouth. “That’s alright. We’ll worry about it later. The most important thing right now is to get you back home.” Tony knew Steve wanted to hunt down Hammer as badly as he did. They had both been planning on a full-out battle where at least one of them would be able to tear into the man. But depending on how long Peter had been running for they could have over a hundred square miles to search to find wherever Peter had been held and right now they didn’t have that kind of time.

Tony wrapped a hand around Peter’s back and they began to walk, taking it easy to ensure that Peter had gotten a bit of strength back from the food and water. Bruce accepted the empty water bottle back from Peter as he finished, the younger beta looking around at all of them with a sudden spark of curiosity in his tired eyes. “Wait, how did you find me?”

Tony smiled back, his arm tightened around Peter. They had driven into the area then quickly decided that they could make more progress on foot after the road they were on took them to a dead end. They were able to move about as fast—even Tony in his weakened state—but they were also able to catch things with senses other than their vision. And after an hour or two of desperate searching, it had worked. “Your Pop and Uncle Bruce caught your scent about ten miles off and we started following you. Then your Pop just suddenly took off.”

Steve nodded in confirmation as Peter glanced over at him. “I heard you calling for us.”

A blush spread across Peter’s cheeks. “I, I didn’t know…”

Those whimpering noises would haunt Tony for a while. Clint had been the first to hear them but Steve had been the first to hear them and react. It had taken Tony only a moment later to hear the sound and he had taken off after Steve as fast as he could manage, as had the others, but he had gotten a decent head start. Steve nodded again and Tony saw him swallow thickly as Bruce gently explained. “It was a cry of distress, the noise Shifter cubs make when they’re calling for their parents.”

Peter’s blush deepened before he gave Tony and Steve each a weak smile. “I guess it worked.”

O~O~O~O

By the time they got back to the mansion they were all exhausted but Steve didn’t think that any of them were going to get any sleep unless the sorted something out first. Stopping Peter before he was able to disappear back into his room, Steve offered him a light smile. “Peter, do you want to sleep in our room tonight?”

Peter opened his mouth and Steve saw his lips began to form a refusal. But then he paused and really seemed to consider it. Some might think that Peter was too old for that sort of thing, and maybe he was, but he was still a Wolf. No matter what age they were Wolves naturally sought out comfort in groups. More than that though, Steve wanted to keep Peter as close as possible for as long as his son would allow it. They had come too close to losing him. And it was clear he wasn’t the only one who was thinking like that. Tony appeared at his side, leaning heavily against him.  “We’ve got plenty of room and we just changed the sheets out.”

Peter let out a strained laugh at Tony’s attempt to win him over. But now that Tony had spoken up Steve knew that Peter would accept. It wasn’t every day that the Cat willingly invited people into his room. “Okay. Okay, yeah.” 

Steve nodded happily. “Alright. Why don’t you go get ready and come to the room when you’re done?”

He nodded back and together he and Tony watched Peter shuffle out of the room.  Then Steve turned to Tony, his hand rubbing down his mate’s back. “You’re going to stay the whole night, right?”

It wasn’t something the Cat usually did these days—even now when he was recovering from his surgery—but Steve didn’t think that he had to explain to Tony why it was important to him and probably to Peter that tonight he make an exception. Tony proved him right as he immediately nodded, that serious, worried look still haunting his eyes. “Yeah. I’ll grab my tablet in case I can’t sleep but I’m not going anywhere tonight.”

“Good.”

They quickly went to their own room and got ready for sleep themselves. Their movements were mechanical, only remembering to do everything after a decade of habit. Tony had to take a bit of extra time taking all of his extra medication so Steve was alone in their bed when there was a light knock on the door. Steve sat up as the door cracked open and Peter peeked inside. “Hey, come on in.”

Peter padded inside, closed the door behind him, and looked around as he clamored up onto the large bed. “Where’s Dad?”

“The bathroom, he’ll be out in a second.”

Peter nodded then looked hesitantly at the bed beside Steve. “Um, where should I…?”

He was trying to decide where he should lie down. Smiling again, Steve helped him make up his mind by patting the mattress right beside him. “How about right in the middle?” That way he and Tony would be on either side of him in case anything happened. It was an irrational, instinctive fear but Steve was still happy when Peter nodded and crawled right into the middle of the mattress.

Peter plopped down and his little body seemed to deflate a bit as he relaxed against the sheets. Steve had to reach him to pull the blankets over him but he had almost finished when Tony stepped out of the bathroom. The annoyance on his mate’s face at having to take so much medication instantly vanished from his face as he saw Peter and Tony made short work of flopping down on the opposite edge of the bed, tucking the blankets in a bit more around Peter on his side.

Peter let out a contented little noise and squirmed around a bit, making Tony chuckle tiredly. “This used to be easier when you were five years old…” Steve nestled closer because he knew that Peter wouldn’t mind and wrapped his arm around his son. Peter squirmed a bit more but settled down when Tony rested his hand on top of Steve’s on Peter’s back. “As long as you don’t kick me in the stomach like you used to.”

Peter’s eyes flickered back open but not far, all the trauma having sapped the boy’s energy. “I kicked you?”

Steve instantly offered an explanation. “You were asleep.” At the time it had been pretty cute actually.

Tony shrugged and closed his own eyes. “I’m used to it. All you dogs thrash around in your sleep. I don’t know how when all you do is run around all day…” Tony’s actions belayed his real concern despite his words and he scooted close enough to rest his chin on the top of Peter’s head.

Steve smiled at his mate over their son’s head and for the first time all night was really able to draw in a full breath of air. Peter was safe. Tony was here beside him. He could smell the rest of his pack in the surrounding rooms and knew that JARVIS was watching over them. Things were okay. They were okay. He heard Peter snuffle, Tony pulled the covers up around his shoulders, and then he was falling asleep knowing that Steve and Peter wouldn’t be far behind.

O~O 

Tony jolted awake to a small foot nailing him right in the stomach. He gasped out a cough and scowled until he remembered who was in his bed. His annoyed expression vanished and he grabbed onto Peter’s shoulders, pulling the boy close as he thrashed, a cold sweat on Peter’s face.

Tony had been joking earlier about not wanting to get kicked but he instantly knew this was no laughing matter when he caught sight of Peter’s face drawn up in fear. Steve had woken up too from the noise as Peter began to mumble and together they gently shook him awake. “Peter? Hey, Peter. Wake up, Pete.”

 “No….No! I don’t want to go…!”

Steve wrapped his arms around him, not constricting, just making sure he didn’t flail around too much and hurt himself. “Peter, wake up! You’re having a nightmare.”

Tony and Steve both watched tensely as their voices seemed to bring Peter back to himself, or at the very least wake him up. Sitting up, Tony reached out and brushed Peter’s sweaty hair off of his face. “It’s alright! It’s alright, Peter.” Peter’s eyes snapped opened and he gasped, floundering until Steve hugged him a bit tighter and his eyes found Tony’s. “It’s alright, you’re safe now. You’re safe. We’ve got you.”

Shaking his head, Peter squeezed his eyes shut again. “I don’t want to go to sleep! I don’t want to! I don’t want to go back!” Large tears were rolling down his cheeks now and he gripped at Tony’s arms. “I’m s-sorry!”

Tony’s lips drew into a tight line and then his hands moved up to cup Peter’s face. “Hey. Listen to me. I’ve been where you are now, Peter. I know what you’re going through. Never be ashamed to cry, because it’ll just build up inside if you don’t. It will take a while but trust me when I say that you will be able to work through this, so don’t be afraid that this will last forever. Okay?”

Steve nodded and scooted up so that he was resting back against the headboard so that Pete was resting against his stomach. “We both understand. we’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure nothing like this ever happens to you again. And we’re going to get the people who did it.”

The conviction in Steve’s voice caused Peter to reluctantly open his eyes again and he tilted his head back to look at Steve. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

Tony was reminded all over again why he loved Steve so damn much. The Wolf sounded so sure that he left no room for doubt, even in Tony’s mind. “And you know your Pop doesn’t lie.”

“Are, are you going to stay here tonight?”

It was Tony’s turn to nod and, just like Steve, he made sure he didn’t leave any room for doubt in Peter’s mind. “We’ll both stay all night. And things will be better in the morning.”

O~O~O~O

The next morning the only thing that was better was that Peter had managed to sleep through the rest of the night and well into the next morning. Tony and Steve each woke up earlier but, as promised, neither of them moved from the bed until Peter slowly woke to the smell of someone—probably Bruce—making pancakes downstairs.

Tony had never been more grateful to the pack’s Beta and they both encouraged Peter to go on ahead of them and grab some pancakes before Thor got to them. The tease was familiar and welcome and had Peter toddling out of bed and scrambling for the door to the hall. Steve had been ready to follow but Tony waved for him to stay put. They had some talking to do and for once Tony wanted to get the conversation started. But not with Peter around.

Steve got the message and waited until they heard Peter trotting down the stairs before turning back to Tony. “What is it?”

Getting up from the bed, Tony moved around to change into some clothes for the day. “It’s Hammer.”

A growl rolled up in Steve’s throat at the mere mention of his name but he didn’t speak for a few seconds as he took the time to make the bed. Finally he walked back over to stand beside Tony and choose his own outfit for the day. There was still a rumble in his voice as he spoke. “What about him?”

“We’re going after this son of a bitch.”

“If we call SHIELD, maybe they can—“

Tony slammed his dresser drawer shut then angrily tugged a shirt on over his head. “Fuck SHIELD. This isn’t any of their business.”

“Tony—“

“They wouldn’t even let us go after Peter! Do you think they’re going to let a team of special ops Shifter agents go after a human businessman without _miles_ of red tape? This needs to happen now! We don’t have the time to wait for them to talk it over, investigate it, and write up a small novel before giving us the green light to start. _If_ they even let us do it!”

Steve remained irritatingly calm despite his growling. “I understand, Tony, I do. You know I do, but we need to think this through a little more first now that we have Peter back. We can’t make ourselves judge, jury, and executioner.”

“Why not? Isn’t that what SHIELD does every day?”

“They exist to do a public service and—“

“And so do we! This is our service, taking out bad guys like the type who _kidnap_ children because they got burned on a business deal!” Tony waved his hands in the air to emphasize his words as Steve changed out of his pajama pants and into a pair of kakis.

“We need a bigger reason, Tony! If we don’t have one then what makes us different from them? What would make you different from Hammer if you just ran in to get revenge?”

“The difference would be that I would be alive and he wouldn’t be.”

Steve sighed. Tony knew he was worked up but he felt it was pretty damn reasonable. “There has to be another reason why we could legitimize a raid on his building now that Peter’s safe. He’s not like Hydra…He builds technology but I don’t think any of it is purposefully designed to cause harm to civilian people.”

“He’s getting desperate. It’ll only be a matter of time before he slips up!” And really ends up doing some damage. More damage than he had already done. He had destroyed tens of thousands of dollars of Tony’s property and had almost killed not only Peter but Bruce and Tony.

“Then we’ll wait for him to slip up. Like you said, he’s getting desperate so it won’t be long now until we are reinstated with SHIELD and are allowed to go after him. We have the video he sent you at the hospital and witnesses that Hammer was the one behind the kidnapping. If we take those to SHIELD and the police they’ll have a warrant out on him within the hour.”

Tony shook his head. He knew Steve was legally right. Probably morally right too. But that didn’t mean that he was happy about it. He didn’t want Hammer arrested, he wanted him dead, and he still wanted to be the one to do it. Just like Steve had said, Tony knew it wouldn’t be long before the police nabbed him but if they were going to use the system Tony was going to make sure that the police and SHIELD had enough evidence to put the bastard away for life. And if Tony happened to run into Hammer personally along the way he would happily to take the chance to make the man regret the day he decided to drag Stark Industries and the Stark family into his dirty business.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, the next chapter is finally out! XD Big thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter!!

The next two days passed in odd fits and starts. None of them knew what to do with themselves and so everyone just ended up just trying to keep themselves busy, wandering around the mansion like ghosts. Steve and Tony, and the rest of the pack too really, were all keeping a close eye on Peter. Peter had spent most of the first day he was home sleeping after he had ate an enormous stack of pancakes Bruce made. After Peter had shuffled back into his own room and crawled into bed, Tony swore that he ended up checking on him every twenty minutes. He wasn’t as afraid that Peter was ill or sick but it was the endless fear that he’d look in on Peter curled up in his bed and find his son missing. He never was though, just laying underneath the sheets with his limbs all splayed about.

Two days later and Tony was still doing it, checking in on Peter after he had fallen asleep. He had been trying not to be too obvious about it but after his fifth check of the night he returned back to his own room to find Steve propped up in bed with an expression of weary exasperation. “Tony…Come to bed. Peter will be fine. I checked the perimeter before nightfall, made sure all the security feeds were online, and Clint said he would stay up for a bit so someone is watching the house.”

Tony growled and rolled his eyes. Steve had been just as paranoid as him during the first day but had spent the great majority of his time putting measures in place that would deter future home invaders. After Steve had tested them all he had relaxed a bit, putting his trust in the security systems that they would at the very least alert them of any danger before it made it to the house. Tony had been less easy to convince. He had thought he had a near perfect security system before Hammer’s men came, then look what happened.  “I’m not tired.”

“You will be once you take your medication.”

Yeah, because if there was one thing that motivated Tony to do something it was nagging. There was nothing like being nagged to take your medication that made Tony feel like they were an old married couple, neither of which were accurate descriptors of their relationship. “You don’t know everything.”

Steve pursed his lips. “And you do, is that right?”

“For the most part, yeah.”

Letting out a fond sigh, Steve rolled his eyes. “Come to bed, Tony. You need sleep.”

“Make me.”

Steve arched a brow and gave him a look that told him his challenge had been accepted. But at the same time, “Since I’m not about to tackle you to the mattress in your condition, how about you just come over here and I give you a reason to stay?”

Tony pressed his lips together in mock contemplation. “You make an interesting argument.” Going to bed suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Strolling forward, he sat down on the edge of the bed and raised his brows at his mate. “Well?”

Steve scoffed before he reached over and grabbed both of Tony’s arms in order to gently manhandle him until he had Tony perched on top of his lap. Tony didn’t mind the position but the way he was treating him had his hackles rising. He wasn’t an omega and he wasn’t about to be treated than anything less than the alpha he was. Growling, he leaned forward to bite at Steve’s neck. “I’m not made of glass, you know.”

“I know. You just suffered a major heart attack is all.”

Pulling back, Tony smirked at the Wolf. “Smartass.”

Steve grinned tiredly back in return then leaned forward to catch Tony’s lips in a slow, lazy kiss. Tony growled again and pressed forward, quickly losing patience and licking his way into his mate’s mouth, his hands moving up to grip at Steve’s broad shoulders as Steve parted his lips. He heard Steve release a happy rumble and an answering hum rolled up in his own chest. Steve’s muscles flexed beneath Tony’s grip and Steve smoothed his own hands up Tony’s legs then curved them up his thighs to grip his hips. Even after all the time they’d spent mated, Steve’s touch was still enough to send little sparks dancing across Tony’s skin and thank fucking god for that. Long term commitment used to scare the shit out of him—and it still did from time to time—but Steve was more of a mate than he deserved in every way he could have hoped for.

Tony came sharply back to himself as he felt Steve roll his hips forward beneath him and smiled into their kiss. Damn that felt good. It had been over two weeks since they had had sex and right now that seemed like a sin. He wasn’t even going to fight Steve on who got to top this time, he just wanted it. That, and he didn’t think he’d be able to give his best performance tonight—he _was_ still recovering, no matter what he admitted to Steve—so this worked just fine for him.  

“ _Master Stark, Master Rogers?_ ”

Groaning, Tony leaned his head forward to bite and lick at the side of Steve’s neck. “Don’t be a cock block, J. Daddy’s about to get some.”

Steve looked up at the ceiling and when he stopped moving his hips Tony was sorely tempted to bite down hard enough to draw blood. “What is it, JARVIS?”

“You’re a tease, Rogers.”

Steve smirked then leaned forward just long enough to place a kiss against the corner of Tony’s mouth before JARVIS was speaking again and his attention was pulled away again. “ _I thought you may want to be aware that Loki Laufeyson has returned._ ”

Tony grunted. “Huh. He’s alive.” He hadn’t really been sure how Loki had made it out when he had rescued Peter and hadn’t really thought to ask. As far as he knew though, no one else really did either. Maybe it was because Thor didn’t seem particularly concerned and that was enough for all of them not to worry either. Speaking of which, “Does Thor know?”

“Yes, Sir. _Mr. Odinson is aware._ ”

Alright, that saved him some trouble. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Steve gaped at him as Tony swung his leg over Steve’s legs and rolled off of him. “What? Really?”

That would teach Steve to cock block. Two could play at that game. Though this really wasn’t about revenge. He liked sex too much to use it as collateral without a better reason. “Yeah. I have something to do.”

Sliding to the edge of the bed to follow after him, Steve scoffed as he slipped a shirt back on. “So did I, I thought.” 

Tony had already been walking towards the door but froze in his steps at that and looked back at Steve with a wide, incredulous grin. “Did you just make a sex joke?”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Tony’s grin morphed into a smug smirk as Steve rose to his feet. “You’re the one who engaged JARVIS. I was ready to let you fuck me and you wanted to chat with the butler.”

Steve grunted out some sort of affirmation and they both shuffled around the room to find some pants and a shirt for Tony before they tromped down the stairs. It wasn’t hard to find Loki and Thor; the whole house was dark save for a soft light in the study. The brothers slash lovers were standing close together by an open window leaving Tony to suspect that the Raven had flown in. Adopting a saunter as he drew closer, Tony announced their arrival with a low drawl. “Well, look what the Cat dragged in.”

Thor wrapped a protective arm around Loki’s shoulders at the sound of Tony’s voice and they both turned to face them as they walked into the room. “He arrived just moments ago.”

“We heard.”

Tony watched them both then walked up to Loki with Steve trailing curiously after him. “I’m only going to say this once, probably in my entire lifetime, so you better be paying attention.” Loki and Thor both straightened up and a low, rumbling growl rolled up in Thor’s chest in warning. Tony didn’t pay it any attention though and addressed the Raven directly with his next words. What he was about to say was going to hurt but it was necessary for his pride to stay intact. “Thank you, Loki. You got to Peter before we could, so, thank you for getting him out.”

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, a pleased smile on his face before offering his own thanks. “Peter told us a bit about what happened. How did you get out of there?”

Loki flippantly brushed off their gratitude and Tony was almost glad to see it. The whole ‘being sentimental’ thing made him uncomfortable, especially when directly to a Shifter he still considered to be slightly insane. “Please. Do you really think a handful of humans could stop me?”

Tony smirked then shrugged. “I don’t know. If they had guns, maybe.”

The Raven’s eyes narrowed at his response. “You would be mistaken then. I killed them and a good deal of the others before I left.”

“You managed to do that all by yourself?” Steve looked impressed and Tony couldn’t blame him. If what Peter had said about the facility he was being kept in was even half true then it was a bit of a feat. He was fairly certain that he, Steve, or Thor could have done it but…no, wait, Loki was probably just crazy enough to make it work.

“Yes. It is amazing what one can accomplish when one puts their mind to it. An intense distaste for one’s enemy never hurts either. I showed them little mercy and it was for the best that Peter did not bear witness to it.”

Thor gazed down at his brother, absentmindedly brushing back a strand of his black hair behind his ear. “Why did you not come home afterwards? You must have known I would be concerned after Peter retold his story.”

“And you also should have known that I was perfectly healthy.” The warm look faded from Loki’s eyes as he turned away from Thor. “I attempted to track the rest of the men who I had seen coming and going from the facility while Peter was held captive but they covered their tracks well. With a few more days of searching I undoubtedly could have found them but I assumed you may have a swifter method.”

Tony and Steve looked at each other before Tony let out a sigh. “Yeah, we’re working on that.”

O~O~O

Tony was up out of the bed again by two in the morning. He slipped from Steve’s grasp and only managed to do so without waking the Wolf because of his own natural agility as a Cat. He didn’t always take advantage of it but this was one of those moments where it really came in handy. Mind buzzing from all the listless hours he had spent over the last two days, he went straight down to the workshop. There was a spark of an idea that had been floating in his mind for a few days now that he wanted to get to work on.

To his surprise and gratification no one came looking for him. At all. Not even Peter. He only realized this after looking up after an uninterrupted inventing session and noticing that six hours had passed. Typically he would have celebrated his good luck by remaining exactly where he was but he recognized the fact that not only would Steve probably want him to eat something given his tenuous health but hat Peter would probably want to see him. So Tony found a good stopping point, cleaned himself off a bit, and headed upstairs.

It didn’t come as a surprise to Tony that he had been exactly right. As soon as he spotted him, Peter practically latched onto Tony’s side and followed him around for a few hours while Steve silently pressed a sandwich into his hands. They spent the late morning and early afternoon together just as a small nuclear family with the other pack members drifting in and out of their activities, the rest of them—even Bruce—still too on edge to stay for long. For Tony, it was a bittersweet reminder of what had almost been stolen away from him. That if Peter had been taken away it would have destroyed Steve, and honestly he didn’t know if he would have been able to handle it either. And that it had almost happened because of a bad business deal Tony had made.

Eventually the rest of the pack’s nerves began to rub off on Tony, dredging up his own natural restlessness all over again. Despite the fact that he knew Peter probably wanted him to stay longer and that Steve wouldn’t be happy, there were too many things on his own mind for Tony to stay settled. He had spent about six hours with them though, that wasn’t bad for him, considering his track record.  With a quick kiss to the top of Peter’s head, Tony ruffled his hair then rose to his feet, excusing himself with a half-hearted explanation. He was only able to take five steps from the room before he heard Steve murmur something to Peter then follow Tony out.

Tony let Steve catch him, knowing that he owed him that much. When Steve saw that he was waiting some of the annoyance faded from his eyes and he just looked sort of resigned instead. “Where are you going?”

Tony opened his mouth and he really wished he could tell Steve the truth. But he knew if he did the Wolf would never let him out the front door. “I’m just going out for a drive around the hills to blow off some steam.” That actually sounded plausible, like something he would do. Probably because he’d done it before. He kept his cars serviced and gassed up for a reason.

Steve still seemed unsure, his eyes flitting across Tony’s face undoubtedly looking for a tell. But Tony was a much better liar than his mate. He’d had a lot of practice in his life. Steve saw through him better than most and Tony was sure that he knew something was up but just couldn’t quite pin it down. “I don’t know…”

Tony waved his hands up and gestured around at the walls. “I’m not going to stay cooped up in here just waiting for something to happen.”

“But with your heart condition—“

It was a given that Steve was going to bring that up. Tony hadn’t really operated any heavy machinery since his surgery but he knew that he was good to drive. “Relax. I haven’t shown any sign of any sort of relapse and, yes, before you ask, I took my medication today. But if all that fails and I feel something coming on I will pull over and call you. Alright? Satisfied?”

Steve sighed but knew which battles were worth fighting and which were best to walk away from. Especially when it came to Tony.  “Fine. How long will you be out for?”

Tony shrugged. He honestly didn’t know that one. “Depends how much gas is in my tank.”

“At least make sure you’re back for dinner.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I mean it. Peter will want you there.”

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. He would have glared but he couldn’t quite muster it when he knew how right Steve was. “Don’t pull that card on me. You already know I’ll be back.”

“Alright.”

Thankfully, Steve took him at his word on that one. And he should. When it came to Peter, Tony really did try to say what he meant.

After quickly gathering up his wallet, keys, and a jacket, Tony hustled his way outside before anyone else spotted and questioned him. He knew Bruce in particular wouldn’t be thrilled by him going out driving alone but, then again, he might just come to terms, like Steve did, with the fact that it was necessary for Tony not to completely lose his shit. He made short work of getting to the garage and made his way straight over to a silver coupe convertible. It was admittedly one of his less flashy cars and that wouldn’t be such a bad thing considering what he had in mind to do.

Slipping his sunglasses on, Tony jumped over the door and slipped into the coupe’s driver’s seat. It had been a while since he’d been able to drive it and just feeling the dark leather and the steering wheel in his hands was like getting to see an old friend. But he had no intentions of driving her around the country. No, he had a more proactive errand in mind.

O~O

When he pulled into the parking lot of Hammer Industries an hour later Tony was immediately suspicious to find the lot nearly empty, only two other cars parked there. It was the middle of the week and there weren’t any major holidays so the place should have been packed full of engineers and managers who had lowered their standards so far as to be willing to work for Hammer. Tony had expected a full audience when he ripped into Hammer. Luckily one of the two cars _was_ Hammer’s so the man himself wasn’t going to get away so easily.

Parking in a spot that would allow him an easy and fast exit, Tony slammed his car door, made sure it was locked and that he had his phone on him in case he needed to call for help, then sauntered over to the entrance of Hammer’s headquarters. There was no easier way to get into somewhere you weren’t supposed to than by acting like you were exactly where you were supposed to be.

But it turned out he didn’t need to put that much thought into it. He had been staring at the front doors for a good two minutes trying to figure out if it was on an alarm system before he noticed through the thin crack between the double doors that the lock wasn’t fastened. And okay, what the hell? Narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses, Tony reached forward and gave the door a light push and, sure enough, the damn thing swung open about three inches. He still waited a few seconds to double-check that there was no alarm before shoving the door all the way open and peeking his head in.

What he saw only made him more curious.

Stepping in, he closed the doors behind him to leave them as he found them and began to saunter down the long hall that led further into Hammer’s facilities. It was cold inside and felt as empty as it had appeared from the outside, almost like a mausoleum that had just been sealed up. The sound of Tony’s shoes on the tiled floor reverberated down the hall and the silence seemed to hang in the air like a fog. The feeling was only amplified by the fact that all the lights were off and he couldn’t make out that soft, ever-present hum of electronics. The place was dead.

Slipping his sunglasses off, Tony narrowed his eyes and scanned the hall. “Hammer? Hammer, you in here?” He might not have a Wolf’s nose but even he caught the scent of human male lingering here in the lobby. Someone had been through recently, probably within the last hour.

Something definitely wasn’t right and Tony tried to determine how bad things really were as he walked further into the building. If it was something he could handle himself or if he should give Steve a call. His intuition said he should probably call Steve but his sense of pride and lack of desire to admit to what he was actually up to won out so his phone stayed in his pocket.

Tony had been here before on a factory tour, back when Hammer had just gotten started and Tony thought he might actually amount to something. It had been a few years ago but Tony was blessed with a fairly decent memory. That, and the whole building had obviously been designed by Hammer. Not only was it terribly inefficient and lacked any sort of aesthetic, but Hammer’s office was not difficult to find. He had built it so that the staircase up to it was glaringly obvious it went somewhere important and at the other end he had huge glass windows that looked out over his factory floor. Between that, the layout, and the decor inside, it was in every way and by far the douchiest office Tony had ever seen and that was saying something, considering what his own office looked like.

Luckily, while Hammer had oversized windows facing the laboratory floor, there were no windows facing the lobby, probably to leave the “grandeur” of his office as a surprise for any visitors. For all the nonchalance Tony had shown up to this point, he knew better than to rush in to this without being at least a little careful.

He approached the staircase slowly and climbed it one step at a time. He moved slow so that he was able to stretch out his senses as far as they would go. And it was a good thing he did.

There was a shuffling noise in Hammer’s office and a shadow passed over the small sliver of light slipping out from underneath the door. Tony narrowed his eyes. It had been impossible to miss; it was the only light he had seen since he’d gotten there. There was someone inside. Striding up the remaining steps, Tony growled and called out towards the office. He was done playing around. “Hey, Hammer! Do you think I would just let you take my son without a fight? Come out here and face me man to man!”

He stopped two feet in front of the door, his hands clenched into fists at his side. For a moment his challenge was met with silence but he heard footsteps walking up to the door and it swung open. Tony had been mentally readying himself to punch Hammer right in his smug face and almost stumbled back in surprise when he was instead face-to-face with a stranger. A large, burly stranger with a ridiculously thick neck, meaty hands, and a deep voice. “Sorry, I’m afraid you have the wrong person.”

Yeah, no kidding. Tony did take a step back now, reassessing the situation. “Who are you? Where’s Hammer?”

“I’m a colleague.”

Scoffing, Tony narrowed his eyes.  “You don’t look like a technology developer to me.”

“That’s because I’m not.”

Tony laughed and was about to ask what the hell he was talking about when the man reached behind him and pulled out a gun that he must have had tucked into the waistband of his pants. Great. “Oh. One of _those_ colleagues.”

The man’s eyes narrowed and Tony saw him thumb off the safety. “We were planning on leaving you alone, Mr. Stark, but it seems like Hammer is going to get his way after all.”

The thug raised the pistol up but Tony didn’t give him the chance to use it as he suddenly rushed forward, straight for the human. The man yelled out in surprise but before he could pull the trigger Tony grabbed the man’s arm that was holding the gun and wrenched it to the side. Then, in the same motion, Tony whipped around and slammed his fist into the thug’s jaw. Tony wasn’t holding back and heard a dull _crack_ as a bone—or several—in the man’s face broke under the blow. He screamed in pain then wrenched his arm back and swung back around to aim the gun at Tony’s face.

Again, Tony was too fast for him. Grabbing onto his wrist, Tony twisted it back until he heard a _crack_ and another scream. The man’s hand went limp and dropped the gun and Tony caught it mid-air, spun it around, aimed it at the man’s head, and pulled the trigger. The man’s screams stopped and he slumped to the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead.

Tony stared at him for a long minute then down at the gun and swore. Using his t-shirt he wiped any fingerprints off of the gun and threw it to the floor next to the dead man’s boot.

Well, that wasn’t the best way to end the day. But he wouldn’t let himself feel guilty about it. He knew that in that man’s line of business only one of them was going to walk away from Hammer’s office alive. But what had he been doing there in the first place? Tony doubted that even Hammer would send a thug like that in here by himself. He liked his stuff way too much to have a guy like that rooting through it.

Stepping over the body, Tony made his way into Hammer’s office to investigate, making a careful search of the room looking for anything out of place. He scented the air as he went and between his nose and his eyes it didn’t take him long to notice that a filing cabinet behind Hammer’s desk had been left slightly open with the corner of a file sticking out. It was one of those types of cabinets that could be locked and a quick check of all the other drawers in the stack showed that they were in fact locked, so there was a good chance that the open one had been at some point too. The man must have been searching for something but what? Anything really important had to be digital. Tony was surprised that Hammer even _had_ physical files.

“Let’s see what you were after…”

Tony grabbed a couple of tissues from a box on Hammer’s desk and used them to open up the cabinet so he wouldn’t have to worry about wiping his fingerprints off of anything again. The folder that had been sticking out was labeled “Project X”. Well, it seemed like Hammer’s ability to come up with catchy names hadn’t improved. Snorting to himself, Tony flipped it open but paused when all that was left was an indent in the manila folder where a small, rectangular object had been sitting.

Straightening up in sudden realization, Tony wanted to smack himself. Of course there wasn’t anything in there, the man had clearly already grabbed it. Setting the file down, Tony walked back over to the dead man and began to rifle through his pockets. “Sorry about disturbing you, but you have something I need…”

It took a moment to find what he was looking for. For a man in such a simple outfit, he definitely had more than his fair share of pockets and of course it was in one of the last ones Tony looked in. But finally his fingers closed around a small, squared-off piece of plastic and he grinned. “There it is.” He quickly slipped it out of the dead man’s pocket only to for the grand reveal to be terribly anti-climactic.

All this trouble for a flash drive… There must have been something important on it.

Walking back across the room, Tony took a seat at Hammer’s desk and plugged the flash drive into his computer. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to type with a tissue over all of his fingers so he just settled on the fact that he was going to have to wipe it down afterwards and got to work. Hammer’s private computer was password protected and had an encryption embedded within it to even log on but after a few minutes of fiddling with it, Tony was pretty sure that Hammer had programmed it himself. Because it was predictable and full of holes. Once he was able to access the computer it took him a few more minutes to break into the information; it was also encrypted but used such a similar base as the one securing Hammer’s computer that it took even less time for Tony to hack into it. To be fair, anyone else probably would have had a really difficult time. Tony just knew computers and—more than that—he knew how Hammer worked.

Once he was in, Tony quickly skimmed through the data that streamed onto the monitor. And what Tony saw surprised even him. It was file after file of weapons deals and emails between Hammer and with each email was starting to look more and more like not just a group of thugs but some sort of terrorist organization. Each email was pretty revealing but it was the last few that really caught Tony’s attention.

_//I no longer have the funds to support you and your work. You failed to deliver on any of your promises and as far as I’m concerned you will never see another dime from me. –JH_

_//You still owe us money and weapons._

_//We don’t owe you anything. You didn’t kill Stark and you couldn’t even keep track of one kid. Consider yourself lucky that I’m not demanding the rest of my money back and ratting you out to the feds. –JH_

_//We are coming to take what is owed to us. Out of your flesh if need be._

That’s where they stopped. The last message had arrived in Hammer’s inbox two days ago in the early morning hours.

It sounded a lot like Hammer had bit off more than he could chew. But that’s what happened when you apparently hire an internationally renowned terrorist group to do your dirty work for you. That explained why the people coming after Tony and then Peter had so many resources. The sniper Steve caught might’ve been part of the group or he may have been a consultant they hired on. They sounded pretty intelligent for killers.

Tony leaned back in Hammer’s ridiculously plush desk chair and took a look around his office. If you ignored the dead guy, it didn’t look like anyone had been in there for, say, two days. Tony couldn’t smell Hammer’s disgustingly distinctive scent lingering anywhere either which meant it had at least been twenty-four to thirty-six hours since he had come around. If Steve or Bruce had been with him they probably would’ve been able to be a little more specific.

That meant one of two things had happened: either Hammer had taken their threat seriously and gone into hiding or they had caught up with him. Hammer was a coward when it came down to it so Tony would have probably gone with that first one if not for the fact that he had seen Hammer’s car outside in the parking lot. Hammer loved his supped-up cars even more than Tony loved his and there was no way that he would have left it unattended in the lot overnight.

If they had gotten Hammer then there was no reason to assume they hadn’t also picked up some fairly high-powered weaponry along the way, since that was apparently part of the price on Peter’s kidnapping. Tony knew that Hammer always kept a small stock of his products on site to show off to potential customers, and that “small stock” alone would easily be enough to decimate a city if they fell into the wrong hands…

“Interesting…”

After quickly wiping everything down, Tony left everything exactly where it was, stood up, walked out of the room, then straight out of the building. Now that he had what he needed, he had no reason to stick around. The quicker he could get out the better; Tony was pretty sure just being inside the walls of Hammer Industries was slowly making him stupider.                

Not so stupid that he didn’t realize it was probably time to call someone though. This terrorist group could throw Hammer off a cliff for all Tony cared but it was the principle of the thing. This was one of those times when Tony realized how much Steve had rubbed off on him.

Hustling back into his car, Tony climbed inside then closed and locked the door behind him. When he pulled his phone out it took him a while to decide exactly which someone would be best to call. The first thought that came to mind was Steve of course. But he knew that wasn’t exactly right. He would tell Steve soon but he should probably call a certain someone else first.

Tony sighed then dialed and started the car, his phone’s audio automatically switching over to the car’s speakers.

“ _Agent Coulson speaking. Who is this?_ ”

There was nothing like blocking your phone number to make calls interesting. Slipping his sunglasses back on, he reversed out of his parking space with a smirk. “Couslon. How are you doing? And, uh, that whole gouging you thing was a misunderstanding. I was aiming for Fury.”

“ _Stark_.” Coulson let out a soft sigh. “I’m _doing much better; I’ve even been cleared for activity duty by medical. And I accept your apology_.”

Tony’s smirk tightened. “I don’t remember giving one.” While he was sorry Coulson had to get caught in the crossfire, he wasn’t going to apologize for going after Fury. The bastard had it coming as far as Tony was concerned.

“ _Right._ ” Tony growled at the speaker; he could hear the smile on the man’s face.“ _Were you calling simply to catch up or did you have another reason_?”

“I thought you should know that I just went to see Hammer.”

“ _That wasn’t a good idea_.”

Uh, yeah. “Probably not. But don’t worry, he wasn’t home. In fact,” Tony glanced at Hammer Industries in his rear-view mirror as he pulled out of the lot, “it might be a _good_ idea for you to send some people over to Hammer Industries because something weird is definitely going on.”

“ _How weird?_ ”

It never failed to impress Tony how well Coulson took unexpected news. “It’s deserted, Hammer probably got snatched by terrorists, and there may or may not be a dead body in his office.”

“ _Stark…”_

“I claim self-defense, and I actually mean it this time. There also may be a flash drive still in the computer that details Hammer Industries relations with said terrorist group which could put Hammer away for a very long time. If he’s still alive.”

“ _I’ll send a team out to investigate. Anything else I should know about before they arrive_?”

Tony pressed his lips together in thought. “No.” Wait. “Oh, yes. The terrorists might also have acquired a healthy arsenal of some heavy-duty, military grade weaponry. But don’t worry, its Hammer tech so probably only half of it works anyway.”

There was a pause on the other of the line before he heard Coulson sigh. “ _We’ll have to call in other agencies on this one. But first I need to know that you will not involve yourself any further in this mess._ ”

“Sorry, can’t do that.”

“ _Stark—_ “

There was no way in hell. “Nope. This has gone on for too long. We can end this now before a whole lot of people get hurt and I’m not going to sit around on my ass any longer. SHIELD can either be a part of it or not but either way it’s happening.” At this point Tony really didn’t give a shit either way. Which was good, because he had a suspicion of what Coulson would say before the words actually left the man’s mouth.

Tony heard another sigh, this one a little longer and a lot more regretful. “ _SHIELD has no jurisdiction on this. No one directly involved in a Shifter, save for you and Peter but you didn’t want that publicized so no one else knows about it. We wouldn’t be able to support you or protect you if any other agency comes down on you for vigilantism._ ”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

He heard Coulson start to say something then stopped, thought about it, and spoke again. “ _And do the rest of your pack members feel this way?_ ”

Tony was positive he knew what Coulson had really wanted to ask. “If you’re asking what Steve thinks then I’ll tell you it won’t take much to convince him that my plan is the right one.”

“ _I have some trouble believing that. Your plan would require him to essentially go rogue._ ”

“You didn’t see his face when Hammer called for a ransom for Peter.” And Tony would never be able to forget it. “And you know if there is any chance that he could save people from terrorists with too much fire-power on their hands that he would take it.”

“ _Alright_.” Coulson almost seemed resigned now. “ _SHEILD received an anonymous tip about a break in at Hammer Industries. There were rumors that a Shifter could have been related so we are going to send in a unit to investigate. Once we take control over the scene and ensure that no Shifters are involved, we will allow the City police access for them to begin a formal investigation. Does that sound about right to you?_ ”

Tony smiled. Coulson always seemed to have a stick wedged up his ass but he was a good guy. Almost made Tony actually apologize for scratching him. Not quite though. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was just out for a drive in the hills.”

“ _I’m glad we understand each other. Now I don’t want to hear about you, Peter, Steve, or your pack for the next week. If you recall, you and Steve are both on temporary leave from service._ ”

“I’ll see what I can do.” With that, Tony hung up and pulled his car back onto the highway. He wasn’t about to make any promises to the SHIELD agent because he had no plans of following their rules. All he needed to do was convince Steve that his plan was the right one.

O~O

Tony’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise. “You’re not mad?”

He had just gotten back and had found Steve sitting with Bruce and the rest of the pack, including Peter. They had all been waiting for him to get home so they could start dinner but Tony had decided that it was a better time to spill the beans about what he had been up to all afternoon. Steve had taken the news surprisingly well, considering.

Steve heaved a sigh and rested his hands on his hips. “I am mad. But there’s no point in me arguing with you about what happened. What’s done is done. Now we need to focus on how we deal with it.”

Bruce frowned and glanced over at where Peter was playing on his smartphone before looking back up at Steve. “You can’t seriously be considering going after Hammer?”

Tony had thought about asking Peter to leave the room but he thought he deserved to hear what they were planning. There was no way Tony was going to let Peter participate but even though he was a kid, he had something invested in this too. “This isn’t just about him anymore. I don’t know how long it will take the police or federal agencies to track these people down but if we can get there even a minute sooner we might save lives.”

Thor frowned his head from where he was leaning back against the wall. “And you truly believe we will discover Hammer’s location before the authorities are able to?”

Steve was the one to answer this time. By now Peter was watching the conversation bounce from person to person with wide, hopeful eyes. “I do. We have the best after all. Tony,” Tony straightened up as Steve addressed him, “would you be able to track those emails back to their source?”

He smirked happily at his mate. “I’m impressed you knew that was even possible.”

“I didn’t. But I figure if anyone could do it, you could.”

“You would be correct. I’ll need to work on it for a bit but if I can steal Bruce I could probably make it happen.”

Steve looked at Bruce who nodded just like Tony knew he would. If both him and Steve agreed on something, it was going to happen. Steve nodded back at his Beta then turned to look at the others. “Good. And Natasha, Clint, do you have any connections with people who could fill you in on local terrorist activity?”

Clint shrugged casually from atop his perch on the armchair Natasha was sitting in. “We know some guys.”

Natasha tilted her head then nodded her agreement. “I can call in a few favors and see if anyone has heard anything about someone getting a new load of weapons in.” Tony didn’t want to know what sort of favors those were for or who she was calling. Sometimes it was just better not to ask questions.

Thor perked up, already looking invigorated just from the idea of an upcoming confrontation. It didn’t take much to get the big guy riled up. “What help may I provide in preparations of this fight?”

Steve gave him a grim smile “Start prepping the gear. Bring everything you think will make a good impression.”

The Lion grinned broadly at the order. “And impress them we shall!  Our enemies will not know what hit them when we arrive!”

After devouring a hastily thrown together dinner, they each split up to work on their various tasks which meant that Tony headed down to the basement with Bruce in tow. They immediately got to work and the first thing that Tony did was break back into SHIELD’s server. Bruce had been a bit confused at that but it didn’t take him long to come to the same realization that Tony had when he had been sitting back in Hammer’s office. If he called SHIELD they were sure to swoop in fast and download every bit of information before anyone else got the chance to check it over. Tony was counting on the fact that they’d be thorough—especially since Tony had done all the hard work for them when he broke through Hammer’s digital security systems then told Coulson what to look for. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that by now, SHIELD should have already arrived and processed their digital evidence which meant that the emails were already uploaded onto their server. Which is precisely why Tony hadn’t bothered to copy them in the first place. Why waste megabytes on his own computer when he knew that SHIELD was going to do that for him?

Sure enough, there the emails were, freshly uploaded aside the rest of Hammer’s hard drive. Tony would have felt bad for the guy now that all of his personal and business information was SHIELD property but he couldn’t bring himself to care nearly enough to muster up any shred of sympathy. Served the dick right.

 Bruce wasn’t nearly as accomplished with all of this tech stuff as Tony was but he made for a great assistant and once Tony got him going he was more than able to sift through his own set of data. A few more clicks and Tony had his own processing automatically, freeing him up for other projects.

Bruce tossed the Cat a look over his shoulder as Tony wheeled his chair to a table twenty feet away covered in a half-finished invention, the one Tony had been working on that morning and was eager to finish now more than ever.  “Tony, aren’t we supposed to be tracing those emails?”

“And we are.”

“No, _I_ am. You’re fiddling with something on your workbench.”

Tony smirked as he slipped on a pair of goggles waiting for him at his workstation. “I’m just finishing something up. Trust me, you’ll like it. Besides, I built a program fifteen years ago that will trace the addresses in half the time, so it’s almost like I’m doing all the work for the both of us.”

Bruce stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head and turning back around to look at the screen. “I’m going to keep going and see if I can find anything your computers miss...”

“Go for it. I, however, have something much more productive in mind…”

O~O

It took about two hours between Bruce and Tony’s computer for them to track down the location of the original sender of the terrorists’ emails. It was really a testament to their apparent obsession with staying in the shadows but it was inevitable that they’d crack through it eventually.

When Tony and Bruce emerged from the basement they found Steve and Thor in the dining room strategizing. They seemed to be in the middle of a fairly serious conversation so of course Tony walked forward and butted right in, leaning heavily on the back of Steve’s chair and interrupting Thor mid-sentence. “What’s got you two lugs looking so sad?”

Steve rolled his eyes but seemed too occupied with his current predicament to react more than that. “We’re talking about what sort of supplies we have.”

Thor growled at Tony’s disruption. “As I was _attempting_ to inform Steve, our artillery, while impressive for a force of our size, is not as expansive as I had hoped. It would seem that all of the most powerful  weapons we utilize during our missions are provided by SHIELD.”

Motioning for Tony to take the chair next to him, Steve continued. “If we go without SHIELD’s consent, we won’t be able to access any of their resources. We all have our own personal gear but there are a few pieces of gear that we won’t have that we’ve become reliant upon. For example, we’ll have to go back the cell phone method of communication.”

What a perfect segue. Tony smiled smugly as he took the seat Steve had indicted, but not before putting out a small, irregularly shaped device from his pocket and setting it on the table in front of Steve. “Not this time. As of now, SHIELD communications are officially outdated.”

Steve raised a brow but didn’t look too impressed yet. “What is this?”

“The same sort of earpieces SHIELD developed. Except better. They’ll allow constant communication and adjust with us as we Shift, even Natasha, which was always sort of touch-and-go with those SHIELD pieces of junk. Not only that but they also double as tracking devices, are essentially invisible to the naked eye, and are flat out more aesthetic and comfortable to wear. That one in front of you is one of six I made.”

Now Steve looked impressed. So did Bruce and Thor and they both leaned in to get a better look as Steve delicately picked up the one in front of him. “How did you make this?”

Pff. How could he _not_ make it? Tony snorted as he leaned his chair back. “I can do anything those hacks at SHIELD can do with a little bit of thought. It took me longer than it should to figure the shrinking aspect out but I knew if they could work it out almost a decade ago it would only be a matter of time before I did.”

“How long have you had these?”

Tony shrugged. “Since an hour ago but I made most of it this morning.” He wondered how long it had taken SHIELD to come up with it and whose nose he had to rub it in that it had taken him less than a day.

“Is that what you were doing down in your workshop?”

“Among other things.”

“Ok, well,” Steve passed the earpiece back to Tony, “I suppose we have a few more points in our favor then.”

Tony’s smile grew. “Damn right. And the sooner we get moving the better. From what Bruce and I found, the emails originated from an industrial complex in Connecticut that was supposed to have been abandoned back over thirty years ago. It looks like the right place though; far enough away from anything else that no one would get curious but decent access to the interstate to ship in supplies. Bruce pulled up some satellite images and we also saw a surprisingly modern-looking truck for a place that was closed down more than a quarter of a century ago. If they’re as smart as they seem they won’t stay there long though once they realize SHIELD is on their trail.”

Steve frowned at Tony’s words and a new sense of urgency lit in his eyes. “You’re right. But we still have some things to figure out. One thing in particular.” Tony motioned for him to go on. “Peter, Tony. I don’t think anyone will be coming after him but I don’t feel at all comfortable leaving him here by himself, and we sure aren’t taking him with us.”

“Right…” Damn. How could he forget the obvious. Bruce wouldn’t even be able to watch him again. They would need the older beta with them when they went after Hammer. But Steve was right; after everything Peter had been through, there was no way they were risking his safety again so quickly by taking him with them. Tony didn’t want to involve Coulson any more than they already had. Pepper was an option but—Tony’s thoughts trailed off as his eyes caught on Thor. Huh…Now that was an idea he didn’t think would ever cross his mind. But there was no reason it wouldn’t work now that Tony knew where things stood. “…Loki can watch him.”

Steve and Bruce’s gaze snapped over to him and Thor straightened up and blinked in surprise. “What?”

Tony looked over to meet Steve’s eyes and a message passed between their eyes before Steve nodded as if to confirm it for himself. After learning about what Loki had done for Peter neither of them felt that the Raven was a threat to their boy anymore. Tony still wouldn’t put it past Loki to take a swing at one of _them_ , but he seemed to have a soft spot for Peter. And they had both seen how ruthless the Raven could be. He could be a formidable opponent and would be more than enough to keep Peter safe if he chose to. “Your brother, he can stay here while we’re out, right?”

Thor nodded. “Yes, only…I had not thought that you would trust him alone with Peter.”

Shrugging, Tony waved at the other Cat. “Go get him.”

The Lion was too excited to be annoyed at being ordered about and was on his feet. A second later they heard him bounding up the stairs, shouting out his brother’s name as he went. This time Tony, Steve, and Bruce all shared a look and Bruce surrendered to the fact that he was going to be there for a while and sat down in a chair across the table from the alphas as the three of them waited for Thor to return. Even with Tony’s thick floors, they could hear Thor stomp around the second floor as he searched for the Raven. Then Thor thundered back down the stairs, straight past them, and out the backdoor into the yard. If it weren’t such a serious situation it would have been funny but as things were, Tony was just starting to get impatient. The worst part was that he knew he wouldn’t be able to help Thor even if he wanted to hurry things alone. Tony had no idea how anyone was supposed to find the Raven, especially if he didn’t want to be found.

Tony was able to grab his phone and dial Pepper when the backdoor slammed back open and Thor strutted back inside with Loki close on his heels. The pale Shifter eyed the three of them sitting at the table the raised a condescending brow. “You requested my presence?”

Tony snarled but Steve refused to buy into it and got right to the point. “Loki, can you watch Peter while we go after Hammer?”

For once, the Bird seemed well and truly caught off guard. His eyes flickered back to Thor as if to check if this was some elaborate joke but the blinding smile on Thor’s face seemed him to convince him that explanation at least wasn’t true. So he turned back to Steve and cocked his head to the side. “Pardon?”

Tony smirked and rocked his chair back up so that all four chair legs were on the floor. The soft _bang_ caught Loki’s attention and as his dark eyes flickered over, Tony answered back. “Can you watch Peter? Keep him safe? He’s old enough to feed himself but we need someone here who can protect him if anyone comes for him again.”

This time Loki seemed to take them seriously and, after one more check back to Thor, let a smile slowly curl onto his lips. “How desperate must you be to ask me?”

Tony snorted. “Fairly desperate.”

Before another smart remark slipped passed his lips, Steve cut Tony off, making sure to make solid eye contact with Loki. “Can we trust you with Peter?”

A long moment assed between them before Loki gave a hesitant nod. “Whether you trust me or not is up to you…But I can watch the boy.”

“Alright.” Steve reached his hand out and Loki hesitated again before reaching his own out and Steve confirmed the arrangement with a brief handshake. “Thank you.”

As soon as Steve released his hand, Loki hovered for a moment, as if unsure what to do with himself, then disappeared from the room. Thor followed after him and while Steve and Bruce launched right into a conversation about how much food, water, and medical supplies they should pack, Tony tilted his head and listened in as his ears caught the sound of Thor speaking to Loki in hushed tones just around the corner.

“Loki, thank you for agreeing to watch Peter. It meant a great deal to Steve and Tony.”

“I did not agree to do it for them.”

“For Peter then?”

“For you, you oaf.”

“...You will keep Peter safe?”

“As far as is within my power, which is quite considerable.”

“As humble as ever.”

“As if you are one to comment.”

Tony smirked then made a face as he heard the soft noise of them kissing and a final soft murmur from Thor. “Thank you.”

Having a feeling the conversation was over and not wanting to hear anymore sounds he wouldn’t be able to wipe from his mind and rejoined Steve and Bruce’s talk. Thor returned about five minutes later and between the four of them they wrote up a list of everything that would need to be packed into the car, then scattered to make sure that they actually grabbed everything.

Twenty minutes later Tony, Steve, and Bruce were in the garage with Tony’s largest SUV packed completely full of hopefully everything they could possibly need. Natasha and Clint met them there, both of them dressed up in full mission gear with their weapons slung over their shoulders and Tony’s new communication devices already tucked into their ears.

Somehow finding space in the trunk to slip in a long-barreled rifle, Natasha flicked her hair back and turned to Steve and Tony with a raised brow. “Hey, boys. Finally ready to go?”

Tony tilted his head. “Just waiting on Thor.”

“Men always take so long to get ready.” She glanced back at Clint and he gave her an affronted look.

Before the Hawk could come up with a come-back, a loud voice boomed into the open garage from the driveway. “I am mere steps behind you, friends!” He had been checking one final time with both Loki and Peter to make sure that they would both be alright. After Tony and Steve named Loki his new babysitter, Thor seemed to consider it his personal mission to ensure that everything went well while they were away.

As soon as the Lion was close enough, Steve motioned them all to step in closer. He had a serious expression on his face and it quickly spread to the rest of their faces as the seriousness of the situation again presented itself. It wasn’t just the fact that they were going after Hammer. That in itself wouldn’t warrant all this stress. It was the fact that they were going it not only lacking in supplies but also in support. Everything they’d done this point had been SHIELD sanctioned to some degree. This would be the first time they would only have themselves to rely upon.

Steve let out a long breath then crossed his arms over his chest. “Just so everyone knows. I’m not sure what we’re going to find when we get there but there’s a chance there may be one hell of a fight and it won’t be with Hammer. I also want to make it very clear that this will also be unsanctioned by SHIELD. If any of you are uncomfortable with that I would understand if you’d rather sit this one out.”

Everyone stayed silent for a moment before Natasha raised her hand. Steve nodded to her and she pursed her lips. “I do actually have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Are we walking into a rescue operation or is this going to be a strike?”

Steve thought the question over for a moment before he shrugged and answered in typical Steve fashion: with honesty. “I don’t know. It’s possible it will be both. We don’t know what happened to Hammer or what the men he hired are capable of if he wasn’t able to talk them down.”

“Fair enough.”

Beside her, Clint adjusted his box then gave Steve a mock salute. “You lead, we’ll follow.”

A look of relief then pride flashed over Steve’s face and Tony knew how he felt. They had a fucking great pack. “Thank you. Now, let’s get going. We have unfinished business to see to.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, sorry this one took me a little longer to get out. Life’s been getting busier than ever and I have multiple projects going at the same time. But I am absolutely determined to fight through the rest of this story and hope that you all continue to enjoy it and like how it’s going to end. Wait, what? It’s going to end?! But it feels like we just got started! *cries* Big thanks to everyone who put up with me over the last few weeks and commented on the last chapter!! You guys are amazing!

The drive to Connecticut was a tense one. No one spoke very much—not even Tony—and what was said was all in relation to their upcoming operation. The few hours in the car did give them the time to mentally run through a few different scenarios about how they would act depending on what they found. It all came down to the same basic set-up though: Steve and Thor would run in on the front line with Clint and Natasha backing them up from a distance and Tony and Bruce would handle whatever sort of technological aspects that cropped up, anywhere from communications to hacking into computer networks or security systems. If shit hit the fan, they were to join Steve and Thor and help fight.

It wasn’t a great plan and the only comforting part about all this was that they had worked so closely together for so long that they not only knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but they knew how each other worked and how they would be the most useful in the field. And no one knew all of that better than Steve which was why Tony was only too happy to put his alpha-pride to the side momentarily and let the Wolf call the shots. At least until they found Hammer. Tony wasn’t going to let anyone take that from him.

When they made it to the general location Tony and Bruce had traced the email origin to they all piled out of the car. They had no interest in alerting any possibly armed, military trained men to their presence before they absolutely had to. Leaving the SUV tucked behind a sprawling thicket of thorny brush, Steve led the way towards the abandoned industrial center with an actual compass and the mental map he had apparently memorized. The hike wasn’t easy, especially as it began to get dark, but they weren’t willing to take advantage of the road dirt Tony knew led up to the old buildings. They’d be far too easy to spot that way. Their choice in paths would have been hard for even the most athletic of humans but it was manageable for Shifters.

After about twenty minutes of trudging through the woods, the trees started to clear enough for them to make out the shape of a concrete structure in the distance. Clint was of course the first one to spot it and in the blink of the eye he was climbing up a tree to get a better view. Natasha was close behind him and Steve walked up to the base of the tree trunk, craning his neck to watch them tuck themselves up into the foliage in the top branches. “What do we have?”

There was a moment of silence and Tony and Thor both paced up as far ahead as they could without exposing themselves too much to whatever sentry might be keeping a look out. Meanwhile Clint was leaning out on the furthest branch that could hold his weight while Natasha pulled out a pair of Stark-designed, collapsible binoculars out of a pouch on her belt and switched over to the heat scanner vision. Over the years Tony had streamlined the video technology he had created back when the pack had first gotten together so there were no more clunky cameras to worry about. Now it was integrated into said pair of binoculars and he had made one for everyone on the team.  Clint never bothered to carry his—claiming his vision was just fine without—but Natasha did so religiously, as did Steve. The alpha Wolf just couldn’t hoist himself up into a tree as easily as they could.

Natasha answered back quietly after another moment of silence, making great use of their new communication ear pieces as she whispered into it. “ _There seems to be four buildings still standing but as far as I can tell only one of them is in operation. The largest one, looks to be three stories, partially hollowed out in the middle of the structure but fully equipped with electrical and plumbing_.”

Tony saw Clint nodded his agreement, the Hawk squinting off into the distance. “ _We’ve got movement outside and two, maybe three targets walking around the ground. They don’t seem to be on guard but by the way they’re walking they’re definitely trained and probably carrying weapons._ ”

Frowning, Tony tried to see anything of what the two of them were seeing but failed miserably. When the wind blew just right he could catch the faint scent of human on their air but that was about it. “We can’t rule out that they _do_ have someone on guard and we just can’t see them. But, hey, on the bright side, did anyone notice how amazing the sound is on these things?”

Amongst all the tension it was almost a relief to hear the exasperated sigh from Steve. “Tony...”

“What? If no one else was going to say it, I was.”

Tony heard a snort and saw Natasha shimmying back down the trunk of the tree. A second later, a soft rustle was the only warning Tony got before Clint jumped out of the tree and landed right next to him in a graceful crouch. Damn Birds.

Steve was too far into battle mode to let either Tony’s quip or Clint’s sudden reappearance phase him. His blue eyes were narrowed and Tony could see his brain running through all the different scenarios in his mind about how they should handle this. Aside from going out to try and rescue Peter, this was the first time Tony had really seen Steve in action in years and it never ceased to amaze him just how absolutely amazing his mate was. Humans could say what they wanted on the news about Shifters, alphas in particular, not being the brightest crayon in the box but Steve crushed all of those stereotypes. Tony knew he did too, hands down, but Steve was brilliant in a different way. He couldn’t run through formulas like Tony or Bruce could but there was a certain spark in the Wolf’s eyes when he began to plan, a real, natural intelligence and understanding of how _people_ worked with each other and their environment that never ceased to amaze Tony.

It only took another second for Steve to motion them all in close. “Okay, new plan. Because of the way the building is set up and all of the unknowns, here’s what we’re going to do: Clint, you’re going to go in with Thor and Natasha, you’ll be with me. Both teams will walk around the perimeter and look for entry points. Tony,” Tony felt himself subconsciously straighten up, “you and Bruce hang back until we get a closer look. Everyone remember: communication is key so we have to be constantly talking to each other.”

Tony wasn’t thrilled with the idea of him getting split up from Steve but understood his mate’s logic. They needed to spread their strengths—and their alphas—out. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. Natasha didn’t look one hundred percent certain either but it wasn’t until she opened her mouth that he realized what was bothering her.  “Is the radio line secure?”

He could answer that one. Stepping forward, Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “One hundred percent.”

Clint raised a brow, a smirk flickering onto his lips. “Are you sure?”

Clint knew damn well from his tone that he was sure. “One hundred percent. My tech, my own communication system running on Stark Industry lines using Stark Industry satellites. It’s impossible for anyone but me—okay, me and Pepper—to even set up a connection and I don’t think Pepper’s going to sell us out any time soon. She has too much invested in stocks at this point.”

Before Clint could come back with a smart response, Steve cut in. “Okay, so it’s confirmed. The communication is secure so let’s not forget to use it.”

Thor wasn’t about to give Clint the chance to response either and rested his hands on his hips. “We will remember to use Tony’s creation but now it is time for action. Come Clint, we shall circle around to the western edge of the property and see if we are able to find a weak point in their defenses!” He remembered to look for Steve for a final confirmation before the Lion was bounding off.

Clint rolled his eyes before giving all of them a loose wave. “See you on the other side.”

Shaking his head, Bruce adjusted the bag on his shoulders and watched as the Hawk raced off after the alpha Cat. “Let’s hope he meant the ‘other side of the mission’.”

“Sure,” Natasha strapped her binoculars back onto her belt, “let’s go with that. Ready to go, Steve?”

Steve nodded. “Absolutely.” But before he stepped forward, he leaned back to press a quick kiss against the side of Tony’s head. It was over too quickly for Tony to even really react, Steve pulling away before Tony could so much as kiss him back. “Stay safe, Tony.”

“Yeah. You too, big dog. Remember to follow your own advice. You see anything funny in there, you’d better call us before charging in on your own.”

That brought a grim smile to Steve’s face before Tony lost sight of his expression as the alpha Wolf turned away to head towards the east with Natasha. “I’ll do my best!”

“That wasn’t a ‘yes’!” Tony’s shout fell on deaf ears as he and Natasha quickly disappeared into the trees, leaving Tony alone with Bruce. Turning to the beta, Tony shook his head. “And, surprise, surprise, we get left behind.”

Bruce raised his brows. “Honestly, I’m okay with that.”

“You’re kidding.”

Shaking his head, Bruce glanced back then took a seat on a rock sitting on the ground behind him. “It’s not like we’re being kept out of the mission all together, they’re just making sure that it’s safe for us. You have to admit, we’re not the best team to send out on the front lines.”

Tony growled and paced in front of Bruce. “I might be getting older, but I’m not _that_ old, Bruce. I can still do anything Steve and Thor can.”

The tilt of Bruce’s mouth said that he might disagree with that but Tony was thankful when he chose to leave the statement alone. Tony’s ego was bruised enough as it was, he didn’t need to hear Bruce call him on what might have been a pile of bullshit. “Even so, you’re not exactly in peak condition right now. And I never am so, there you go. Besides, we are pretty much the only members of the team who can assist remotely—“

“— _Tony,_ ” Natasha’s voice over their earpiece interrupted their conversation and Bruce gestured pointedly at Tony. “ _We’ve found a spot that isn’t being manually guarded but it looks like there’s some sort of electronic security grid canvassing the grounds and the building on top of the men doing rounds. We’re going to need to shut it down.”_

Alright, so Bruce might have just proved his point. Rolling his eyes, Tony snapped his fingers and motioned for Bruce to grab his tablet and hand it to him. “That was quick. As fantastic as I am, I’m going to need a little more information than that in order to come up with a solution. Send me a picture so I can see what we’re dealing with.”

Bruce pressed a tablet into his hands and a second later a message from Natasha’s phone popped up with a zoomed-in photo of the side of the building. There were cameras and sensors in key locations across the entire side and though he couldn’t make out any details through the image, he could guess what he had to work with just by looking at the set-up. There was likely a single control panel linking that managed the feeds and triggers for the whole system. There were wires threading down the building’s exterior masonry walls and looked like they ran around the corner rather than through a hole drilled in the side of the building so they probably had the panel outside. But somewhere protected. He had been hoping that it would have all been set up on some sort of wireless network but he wasn’t going to get that lucky. “Yeah, that’s going to have to be done in person. Keep your eyes open for anything that looks like a control panel. It will probably be tucked out of the way someone with one of these guys guarding it.”

 Clint’s voice crackled through the line “ _We see something that looks like it could be a control panel_. _Just sent you a photo.”_

Tony glanced down at his tablet again and saw a new message pop up onto the screen courtesy of Clint. They looked like they were pretty close to the building, closer than Tony would have figured Clint would want to get. Then again Thor was with him so they were luckily the two of them hadn’t stormed the building yet, triggering all the alarms in the process. The picture showed what looked like the edge of a metal box within what could only be described as a guard post. It was a reinforced structure the size of a small shed and the photo showed that there was one man sitting inside it looking at a wall adjacent to the metal box, likely a panel of security monitors. “Yeah, that’s probably it. That looks like it’s about, what, ten, maybe twenty feet from one of the entrances to the building?” Which meant that it wasn’t exactly a safe place for him and Bruce to be traipsing up to.

Before Clint or Thor could even confirm Tony’s observation, Steve had already jumped on the line. “ _Alright, we’re going to need to get Tony and Bruce in close. Let’s switch up the teams. Natasha, you and Clint run interference_.”

That would leave Steve and Thor to go solo for a few minutes but, then again, if Tony couldn’t trust Steve not to get himself killed within the span of ten minutes then they were all screwed. Tony nodded at Bruce and the Wolf hopped back up onto his feet. “Are we going to get some sort of signal or what?”

It was Thor’s chance to chime in. “ _I have an excellent view of your destination. I will maintain my position and alert you when it appears safe for you to approach!”_

“Works for me.” Switching off his earpiece, Tony waved at Bruce. “Let’s go. We need to get closer. Knowing how fast Clint and Natasha work their ‘interference’ it should take all of ninety seconds and I don’t know how big of a window they’ll be able to give us.”

At Tony’s urging, the two began to follow the path taken earlier by Clint and Thor. It wasn’t hard to follow them and when Tony lost the trail for a few seconds, Bruce picked it back up, easily tracking their scents. Tony felt his body protest a bit at the sudden burst of movement but pushed through it, intent on doing what he had to in order to make this mission work.

Bruce trotted along behind him and though he had gone on more missions recently than Tony had, the difference in the stamina of an alpha—even an injured one—versus a beta began to make itself known. That wasn’t to say that Bruce was out of shape, he would still be running circles around a human and would probably have been able to keep up his pace for another twelve hours, but something inside Tony just kept pushing him to go faster.  “Come on, Bruce, hustle!”

Bruce scoffed and gripped the bag he was carrying a little tighter. “This is me hustling! Not all of us are alphas with strong running abilities.”

“We’re going to get out of the lab and into the gym more after this.” Tony definitely meant the ‘we’ part. If he was already getting a bit winded just from this, _he_ was the one who was out of shape. But they both had been spending too much time in the lab recently.

“Let’s just focus on ‘this’ first.”

Tony didn’t hear any movement from the others as they approached the old brick building but he didn’t expect to. In fact, the amount of quiet he was hearing probably meant that Natasha and Clint were doing their job. They were both master assassins and if they wanted to kill someone silently you could be sure as hell they’d be able to do it. The way the men patrolling the yard were spread out would just make it easier for the two of them to clean up.

Sure enough, it took less than three minutes for Thor to speak up again, whispering into the microphone for once. “ _The guard in the booth has left, undoubtedly to investigate why he has not seen any of his men on the screens. You should move in now! I shall keep watch and ensure your safety.”_

 “Alright, here we go.” Although he had come to trust Thor’s judgment, Tony still checked around before he led Bruce out from behind the trees and into the clearing that had been cut away after years of manufacturing and then had started to retake the facility after years of neglect. His alpha instinct forced him to make sure Bruce was beside him and a little bit behind so that Tony would take the brunt of any possible attacks as they stepped out into the overgrown grassy field. For half a second Tony thought about trying to be sneaky about it but then decided to say screw it and just ran. He heard Bruce bite back a curse then raced after him.

By some miracle they managed to get to the booth without getting riddled with bullet holes and Bruce scowled at Tony as they both squeezed inside. “Thank you for warning me before taking off. Now, do you have a plan or are you just going to wing this?”

Smirking, Tony glanced back over his shoulder to make sure there weren’t any humans with guns running at them yet. “You know me, what do you think?”  

“That’s what I thought.”

Tony’s smirk only grew and he sat down at in the chair the guard abandoned, his hands immediately moving to the keyboard. It was a pretty advanced system for an old building out in the boondocks and it took Tony a few minutes just to get to the main screen and pull up the programming code. His tisked as he wasn’t able to get as far into the system as he wanted and scooted the chair over to the box on the wall. Flipping the latch up, Tony pulled the front panel open to expose the circuitry underneath. “Alright, now we’re talking…Oh god!”

Bruce whipped around to face him, his whole body tense. “What’s wrong?”

“Look at this!” Tony waved accusingly at the inside of the panel. “A monkey did this, that’s the only explanation. Hammer was trying to save money and he had a monkey do his wiring. Look at this, Bruce!” He wasn’t just making a scene to hear himself talk; it was really terrible. Tony had done better work when he was six years old at he had done some shoddy work back then.

“Focus please!”

“Look at it!”

Bruce heaved a long-suffering sigh and made a point to bend over and look. Tony would have almost felt a bit juvenile about forcing Bruce to look at it before he was vindicated as Bruce let out a light snort. “That really _is_ bad. Now focus. The others are waiting on us.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He pulled his StarkPad back out and motioned for Bruce to turn around. The beta did so with a huff and Tony quickly pulled out a cord from one of the smaller pocket on the bag Bruce was carrying. He would have to do a few quick alterations to the wiring to connect it up but it was possible and it would be the most efficient way to take control of the security network. “Let’s see if we can’t speed things up a bit. Here, plug this in.”

Bruce crouched down in front of the monitor Tony had been working on and actually lent a big hand by turning back to the code as Tony began to fiddle with the circuits. “You’re not worried about attracting security?”

“Are you kidding? This is Hammer Tech. I’m surprised the network is still up and running.”

He watched as Bruce bit back a smile. “Well, it looks like you’re into the system. I’m rerouting the network now to try to connect up with the StarkPad. There’s a pop-up that says it’s going to take…four minutes and thirty seven seconds to make the change. Hopefully we can shave a few minutes off of that…”

“Right.” Tony went to move a stray wire to help strengthen the connection but the movement caused a tiny piece of metal to touch a bad thing and a burst of sparks flew out as a sharp snap of electricity bit at his fingertips. “ _Ow!_ Shit.”

Bruce’s fingers froze, hovering over the keypad, then he looked up to stare at Tony. “Did you just electrocute yourself?”

Tony shook his hand out and hissed. “Only a little.”

“I know I don’t have to tell you that electrocuting yourself when you’re recovering from major heart surgery is not a good idea.”

Yeah, no kidding. “I didn’t do it on purpose. Now how long until you can get in?”

“It just updated to one minute thirty-seven seconds.”

Well, it was getting better. But Tony wanted to make sure that this worked the first time. If they botched it up there was a chance that it would end up triggering the alarm. By now there was a chance that the men were already becoming aware that something was going on since Clint and Natasha started to work but there was no point in making things easy for them. Besides, if Tony and Bruce could get control over the security network they would be able to cut off the feed from the cameras which would give them a decent advantage. “Give me another full minute and then try to boot it up again.”

“Just make sure you get your fingers out of there first. You don’t need any more shocks today.”

O~O

Steve kept his ears peeled and his head low as he waited to hear back from Tony. He had forgotten how tense he got when Tony went out on missions with them. It wasn’t that he didn’t think his mate was capable—Tony was absolutely able to handle himself in the field and Steve still honestly believed he was the best at what he did. No, it was because Steve had a very difficult time remaining focused on the mission when he knew Tony might be in danger. It was an anxiety that had no basis in fact, rooted solely on his instinctual desire to protect his mate, and it was hard to shake.

He was hyper aware of the noises around him as Tony and Bruce made their way up to the tree line. From his position he was able to spot them running across the open ground to the guard station for just half a second before they disappeared from his line of sight. Seeing them sprinting through the grass didn’t do anything to help his nerves but it was very much in character for Tony. Steve didn’t know why he would’ve been expecting anything less from the Cat. He was going to owe Bruce one once this was all over.

Edging forward, he was about to go out and check on them himself when he finally heard the call he had been waiting for from Tony. “ _Alright, I own their security network now so do whatever it is you’re going to do.”_

A mirthless smile formed on Steve’s face and he switched his earpiece back on so the others could hear him as his mind raced with the possibilities. One thing was clear though: if these men were professionals their actions were sure to have been noticed by now, even without an alarm sounding so they had to move fast. But without their security systems in place they wouldn’t know who was coming for them or how many Steve had on his team which was a big advantage for them as they moved in. “Let’s reform our groups. Natasha, you’re back with me; Clint, you’re with Thor. We’ll each find a way to access the building and then on my mark make our move inside. Remember, when we go in our main priority is to find Hammer and take him into custody. That being said, we can’t expect that anyone in there will be happy to see us and—given the weapons they may have at their disposal—assume that everyone you come across is armed and highly dangerous.”

He was answered by a round of confirmations and thirty seconds later there was a rustling in the bushes at his side before Natasha stepped out to join him. She looked entirely composed and Steve had to wonder how many men she had just killed. Her skills never ceased to amaze him. Together they began circling back around the building. Steve had noticed a plain looking door leading out to what at one point might have been a loading dock that was now completely taken over by weeds and brush. As they moved, he whispered back to her, “How did you do?”

She tilted her head. “Did you hear anything?”

“No.”

“Do you see anyone?”

“No.”

A dangerous sort of smile spread across Natasha’s face and she shrugged. “I’d say we did pretty well then.”

O~O

Thor looked over at Clint as the archer reclaimed his position at his side. There were a few arrows missing from his quiver but it seemed as if he had recovered the great majority of them from whatever silent battle he had just returned from. Smiling, Thor motioned over to the main door of the facility. “Are you ready, Clint? We shall make them regret the day they crossed paths with our pack!”

From his observations it appeared to serve as the main door for the mercenaries as well and was certain to have a good number of men directly within. He knew that Steve would pick a strategically sound entrance route of his own but Thor was interested in a more direct route himself. Once they made their way inside, their mission would no longer require any sense of stealth and Thor preferred immediate and open engagement with the enemy rather than slinking down corridors waiting to encounter someone. In that sense, Steve had chosen his partner well for he knew Clint could often be of the same mindset.

Clint eyed the door for a moment before returning his smile. “That’s the least we’ll do.”

They didn’t have long to wait for Steve and Natasha to get into position and Clint knew that they had arrived at their location as soon as he heard the radio give a small _click_ in his ear. Half a second later Steve’s voice came online. “ _We’re in place. Thor, Clint, are you ready to move?”_

Clint looked up at Thor and the Lion answered back. “We are simply waiting for your signal.”

“ _Good. This is it. Move in. Tony, Bruce, you two stay put and use that security system to our advantage._ ”

Clint nodded up at Thor and then they were moving. He didn’t have the time to check if the front doors were locked before Thor sprinted up to the door and with one swift kick slammed the doors open so hard that they nearly snapped off of their hinges. The Lion didn’t stop, taking advantage of any surprise he might have caused by barreling right through with Clint hot on his heels.

As soon as Thor burst over the threshold into the building, Clint’s eyes scanned the room even as someone started shooting at them. The front room was perfect; open, two stories tall, with raised, exposed beams in the rafters. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Leaving Thor to take care of the gunman, Clint scrambled up the wall, the exposed bricks eroded enough to form just the shallowest foot and handholds. It would have been nearly impossible for a human but Clint scaled it quickly without any fear of falling, knowing that he was his own safety net.

Once he was situated, his eyes flew back down to the floor and saw that the man who had been shooting at Thor had been carrying a military-grade semi-automatic handgun but that the Lion had already had him disarmed and incapacitated, probably in the same blow. But he was about to get more company as more men ran into the room and they were a little more prepared.

Clint’s grip tightened on his bow, slipped an arrow from his quiver, and notched it as he called down. “You got three coming on your left and a single man coming around on your right to try and flank you. All of them have guns.” One had another handgun but the other three had assault rifles. He didn’t doubt that they had bigger weapons than that but they would have been insane to use them in a confined space like this in such close quarters. Thor’s head snapped up but by then Clint already had his bowstring pulled back let an arrow fly. “Make that two on your left.”

O~O

As Steve and Natasha ran towards the service door, Steve heard a loud bang followed by a volley of gunshots and knew that Thor and Clint were inside the building. He hoped that they were alright but knew that they had handled worse. Also, they were creating an excellent distraction that would give Steve and Natasha the window they needed to sneak in without being ambushed.

When they reached the side door Steve wasn’t surprised to find that it was locked but made short work of snapping off the lock. Then he and Natasha were inside, his senses sharpening as they stepped into an eroding hallway. It seemed like the building’s new owners were using it for storage because the space was filled with boxes of canned food, cases of water, and what looked like a few large bottles of vodka.

Hearing footsteps hurrying by, Steve held out his hand to stop Natasha and both of them pressed back up against the wall. He could see shadows sliding by from around the corner and tried to count how many people they were dealing with. Five, maybe six decent sized humans wearing heavy boots. Gesturing silently for Natasha to follow closely on his right, he snuck forward with his gun raised and ready. He took a deep breath to steady himself then whipped around the corner with Natasha right at his side and focused on the place where the shadows had originated from.

The men had their backs to Steve and Natasha as they ran off but the one at the end of the line seemed to sense movement behind him and glanced back over his shoulder. He skidded to a stop as his eyes connected with theirs and he shouted at his compatriots as he whipped a gun from his belt. “Hey, two more over here!”

Steve heard the others stop in their tracks but before the man who had spotted them was able to fire a round off, Natasha was already racing forward and with one swift, efficient cut, sliced a blade across the man’s throat. She had been using a sort of Taser weapon embedded in a bracelet she had dubbed “Widow’s bite” recently, but those were SHIELD issue and only given to her during a mission because of how deadly she was with them. If Tony had had a bit more time and had been in better health, Steve was sure the Panther could have whipped out a newer version but she was doing alright with her knifes.

The four other men who had been in the hall rushed at them and Steve shot one of them in the shoulder before running in to join Natasha. Dropping his shoulder, Steve rammed into the man he had shot and sent him flying back into the brick wall, the impact strong enough to knock the air out of him. There was a loud _bang_ and Steve felt a bullet skim by his ear. Reaching back, Steve grabbed at the man who had fired the shot and snapped his arm back, then pulled him down and kneed him in the stomach. His aim was a bit off and Steve heard a rib crack so he let the man drop to the floor. When he looked up, Natasha had already taken care of the two remaining men and they were surrounded by bodies sprawled out on the floor.

Steve tilted his head then looked up at Natasha. “Let’s go see where they were going.”

“After you.”

Leading the way down the corridor, Steve kept his gun up as he quickly followed the path the men had been trying to take. There was another door opening up into a larger room that appeared to have been used as some sort of manufacturing area. It looked to be about three stories tall and most of the space was filled with heavy machinery that looked like it hadn’t been turned on for fifty years. There were windows up on what would have been the top floor but they were so covered in grime that only the barest amount of light from the late afternoon sun were able to seep in, casting an eerie orange glow over the scene. There was so much to look at and so many odd shadows being cast around, Steve switched his focus to his sense of smell. He lifted his nose and scented the air but all he could get was the smell of metal and old grease, all the human smells faded as if no one had been through the room in a few days. But his instincts told him they weren’t alone. “Can you feel that…?”

He wasn’t specific but he knew he didn’t have to be. Natasha nodded beside him, her eyes darting around. “Someone’s here.”

“I can’t catch their scent—“

“Wait.” Raising her hand, Natasha cut Steve off. He watched as she closed her eyes and a second later she whipped her head around and stared at a bulky machine the size of a train car. “There!”

As if waiting for a cue, as soon as the words left Natasha’s lips there was a loud clanking noise and movement behind the machine. Steve and Natasha both instinctively took a step back and they watched as a human-formed shape emerged from the shadows. It quickly became obvious to Steve why he wasn’t able to smell it as he got a better look at it, even if he wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing.  “What is that?”

Natasha raised a brow and in one smooth movement slipped her daggers into her belt and pulled her gun out. “I’d say it’s a man in an armored suit with a flame thrower.”

That’s what he thought. Steve’s jaw tightened and he gritted out a sarcastic, “thanks,” before picking up his own gun and racing towards the newest threat. He expected them to have some large weapons but hadn’t expected them to be literally so heavily armed but it made sense if they had raided Hammer Industries like Tony had said they did. The metal on the armor looked pretty thick, thick enough to stop the sort of rounds they were using, and Steve knew that a flamethrower would be a ranged weapon. So the way he figured it, the only way to beat him would be to get up close.

Hitting the armored man was a bit like punching a concrete wall. Steve managed to push him back one, maybe two feet but then the man inside the armor lashed out with his arm and hit Steve right in the side of the head. The blow stung and made his ears ring but Steve shook it off and resumed his attack, looking for any weak points in the metal, all the while staying close enough so that the flame already burning at the end of the man’s flame thrower couldn’t reach him.

Quickly glancing back over his shoulder, Steve looked back to see that three more men had entered from the far end of the room. One of them was another man with a flame thrower and the two others were no less threatening. One was carrying a high-powered automatic rifle and the third made Steve’s stomach dropped because it looked an awful lot like he was carrying some sort of grenade launcher. Natasha had seen them too and ran over to engage them but Steve’s focus was torn back to the man in front of him before he could see how she was able to manage it.

The armored man swung back at him but this time Steve dodged the blow and twisted around his back to face the tank containing the fuel that ran the flame thrower. He hadn’t been able to spot a chink in his armor but for all the strength it gave him, the suit slowed the man down significantly and Steve took advantage of that. Seeing an important looking valve on the top of the tank, Steve brought his gun up and instead of firing off a bullet—and risk igniting a small explosion—Steve flipped the gun over in his hand and slammed the grip down onto the valve, snapping the metal piece off. Something in the gun snapped too but Steve considered it as a successful move as fuel bubbled out and streamed down the man’s metal back, pooling up around his feet.

Knowing better than to stand in a puddle of gas while there was still an open flame burning, Steve dove off to the side and rolled behind the same machine the armored man had hidden behind earlier. The armored man flailed, able to feel that Steve had done something to his suit but didn’t know what. As he moved, what Steve feared would happen happened and a small spark popped from flame thrower and caught on the gas on the floor.

O~O

Tony’s head snapped up as a small explosion rent the air and he and Bruce both started to their feet as voices sprang up over the radio line.

“ _Steve, I’m losing visual contact_!”

“ _I’m fine, Natasha, you focus on the guys in front of you_.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed and he switched on his own mic. “What’s going on?”

Natasha was the one who answered. “ _These guys are good and they keep coming. They’re separating me from Steve.”_

Shit. “Where are Thor and Clint?”

“ _We’re a bit busy at the moment!”_

Tony met Bruce’s eyes and then Tony was scrambling for the door. “I’m coming in.”

He finally heard from Steve but he already knew what his mate would say. “ _No, Tony, you stay_ —!”

Tony didn’t give Steve to finish and muttered out a quick, “not happening," before muting his mic again.

Bruce looked like he wanted to protest but knew Tony well enough by now to tell when his comments would fall on deaf ears. Instead, he shook his head and reached back to dig through his bag. He pulled his hand out a second later with his fingers wrapped around the grip of a handgun which he quickly passed over to Tony. “Be careful. I’ll help as much as I’m able from here but call me if it gets really bad.”

Tony nodded. He didn’t put too much faith in how much Bruce would be able to do from the booth. They had both been sitting there for the past five minutes so Tony knew just as well as Bruce did that most of the cameras were exterior ones. It was good to be reminded that they had an ace in the hole though.  But things would have to be pretty bad before they called in the Hulk.

From watching the monitors, Tony knew which door Steve had gone in through and ran around to the back of the building. He ran through the open door, his heart pounding as voices rang out over his earpiece as he moved.

“ _We got four more coming towards the front. Thor and I are keeping them under control but they’re coming from some other part of the building. There may be more heading your way!”_

_“Noted. Two more just came into the room. We’ve got one with a flamethrower still active and one with a grenade launcher. The flamethrower is retreating towards your location and I’m giving chase. Steve’s dealing with the grenade launcher and the two that just entered.”_

Tony swore as he jumped over a small pile of bodies blocking up the hall and picked up his pace. There was a hallway left but at the other end was a larger room and he could see containers that Steve had to be on the other side of. He was almost there. Relief flooded him as Steve came into view, the other alpha raising a hand to his earpiece as his gaze locked on something on the other side of the room.

_“Natasha, aim for the tank. Clint, Thor, lock down the front door and try to push your way in!”_

_“Copy that!”_

_“The two newcomers are down, grenade launcher still active—damn it! Brace yourselves!”_

Racing down the hall towards the main room, Tony let out a shout as there was sudden, thunderous sound so deep it made the air shake. It wasn’t the sudden change in the air pressure that tore the cry from his throat, though, it was seeing what caused it. The fucking wall had just been blown down and Steve’s dumb ass had been right underneath it. “Steve! _Steve!”_

Racing over, Tony skidded on the dust and rumble then fell to his hands and knees and tore the bricks away from the last place he had seen Steve. He threw one brick, then another, then found a flash of dirty blond hair and his breath caught in his throat. “Damn it…Steve!”

Steve had curled up on himself, his arm flung over his face and he let out a moan as Tony removed the last brick from on top of his head. Reaching into the mess, Tony grabbed onto Steve’s arms and hauled him out, resting the Wolf’s head in his lap. “Steve! Steve, talk to me. Say something!”

There was a pause before he heard the most beautiful, drugged-up groan Steve had ever emitted. “Tony…?”

Tony heaved a breath of relief. Thank God. Thank God Steve was alright. Or, maybe not alright, he looked a bit dazed still, but he was alive and they could figure the rest out later. Tony caught a subtle movement behind a huge antique generator out of the corner of his eye and his gaze snapped over as a growl rolled up in his chest. That wall hadn’t come down on its own and he had just found out what did it. Or “who” did it. It looked like the man had just spotted Tony as well and now had his grenade launcher pointed at him. And he had the balls to look smug, like he thought he had the upper hand. His mistake.

Tony kept his eyes locked on the man who was watching him just as carefully as he carefully moved Steve’s head off of his lap. “Hold on, Steve. I’ve got a pest problem to take care of…”

Steve might have rumbled out some sort of protest but Tony was already rising to his feet. He felt the muscles in his arms and back tense, his body already priming itself for a fight as a growl settled in his throat. The man with the grenade launcher loaded up another round but it wasn’t going to do him any good; Tony wasn’t going to even give him the chance to pull the trigger. Nobody fucked with Tony Stark’s mate and got away with it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! It’s finally dooone! So sorry it took so long but it just wouldn’t stop! That being said, it’s about 2x longer than any other chapter for this story, so hopefully that will make up for the long wait time! You’ll notice that even though this is last chapter, I didn’t change the status of this story to “complete”. Because this might be the conclusion, but I don’t yet consider it “complete”. Stay tuned. ;) Big, huge thanks to all of those who commented on the last chapter!! You and your support are what kept me fighting through this!

As Tony bore down on the man with the grenade launcher, Tony saw him load up another round but didn’t change course, just ran right for him. His protective instincts not just as an alpha but for a man defending his mate had switched off the logical, risk-assessing side of his brain leaving only the hot-blooded, predatory side that would do whatever was necessary to keep his loved one safe. He literally wanted to tear the human to pieces, to feel his blood and sinew between his claws and teeth, but he wasn’t quite that far gone yet. But that didn’t mean he was going to go easy on him.

Rushing forward at inhuman speeds, Tony grabbed for the end of the barrel of the grenade launcher. He saw the man’s finger move towards the trigger and shoved the barrel up so that any shot would fly into the ceiling, not that he intended to let the human fire another volley. The thug let out a shout of surprise as Tony was suddenly across the room in his face and Tony smelled a spike of fear shoot through the human and he reveled in it.

“W-what the fuck?”

Tony snarled at the man choked the words out. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

A little voice inside his head that sounded an awful lot like Bruce told him “Don’t shift. Don’t shift. Don’t even try to shift.” It was a hard instinct to ignore but shifting had blown out his heart before; he didn’t want to take that chance unless he absolutely had to. And he didn’t have to for this. No, this he could handle just fine mainly in his human form.

The man’s finger tightened on his trigger but by then Tony had ducked his shoulder, shifting so quickly that only his spine twisted up to allow for an inhuman agility, and then surged back up. He rammed his shoulder blade and arm right into the mercenary’s ribs, lifting him up into the air about a foot off the ground before he flew back and slammed into a bulky looking machine. Tony heard the thick metal vibrate with a low thrum as the human hit it.

He seemed winded but was so well trained that he was able to keep his shit together enough to regain his footing. Tony didn’t let him keep it for long though and spun around to land a solid kick right in the center of the man’s already fragile ribcage. He had learned that one from Steve and it had its desired effect. A dull _snap_ sounded and the mercenary let out a strangled scream. Still using the momentum he had built up from the kick, Tony whipped around and body-slammed the soldier back against the machine. His helmeted head banged against the steel so hard that the thick plate of metal dented and the man’s eyes rolled up before he collapsed into a dead faint.  Tony could tell by his scent that he wasn’t dead—at the moment—but he probably would have one hell of a concussion. And he deserved it. When he woke up, Tony hoped he considered himself lucky that he hadn’t literally been torn to shreds because Tony had been itching to get his claws into his skin.

That had all happened in less than a minute and when Tony turned back to look at Steve he was still blinking up at the ceiling in a daze. “Tony?”

Tony was back over at his side in a second and tugged his mate the rest of the way from the debris of the collapsed wall, little fragments of masonry and brick rolling off of Steve’s body. “I’m here. I’m here, sweetheart.”

 Steve grunted something out and Tony felt his muscles tense as if he were about to push himself up back onto his feet. There was no way that was happening. Tony put a stop to the movement before it could even really start and moved one arm around Steve’s chest to keep him pinned in his lap. “No, relax. You took a pretty good hit there.” Tony didn’t see blood coming out of anywhere and with any luck nothing had been damaged internally but you never could be too sure. The last thing Tony wanted was for Steve to strain some mild injury and end up with some sort of serious spinal issue or punctured lung or—

“…Where’s Bucky…?”

Tony’s blood ran cold. Or brain damage. Maybe that mercenary thug wasn’t the only one with a concussion. Shaking his head, Tony slid his hand up to brush back Steve’s bangs to check again for blood. There wasn’t any but there was a small lump right next to his temple that had probably swelled up after ten dozen bricks had bounced off of his skull. “I guess you took that pretty good hit right to the head…”

“I need…to go get him…” Steve made to get up again and Tony just barely remembered to restrain him.

“Bucky’s not here, Steve.”

Steve tilted his head back so that he was looking up at Tony with an unfocused frown on his face. “What?...Why?”

Tisking, Tony tried to think of the right thing to say. Somehow ‘he’s dead’ didn’t seem like the right thing to say to someone who was apparently suffering from a flashback or some mild memory confusion. More than that though, if Tony was being honest with himself, this whole thing was really starting to freak him out. He didn’t like seeing Steve like this.  “He’s not here right now. It’s just me and the pack, the new pack. Bruce, Thor, Clint, Natasha, it’s us.” A spark of recognition seemed to light in Steve’s eyes, or at least Tony liked to think so. Either way, he knew they had to find some sort of cover because he had a sneaking suspicion the momentary quiet wouldn’t last for long.

“Are any bones broken? Are your neck and back okay?”

“Yeah…”

“Alright, here we go then.” Hooking his arms underneath Steve’s, Tony pushed himself up and in the process began to drag his mate towards the corner where there were actually walls still standing to provide some sort of cover. Tony grunted as he tried to pick up the pace but it wasn’t easy dragging Steve around. He was like one hundred and ten percent muscle mass and he was pretty much limp. “Help me out here, you weigh a ton.”

Bless his huge, dazed heart, but Steve actually did try to help. He picked up his feet a bit and fought to regain some of the strength in his legs to push himself along. By the time he and Tony had fought their way into the corner Tony could tell that the Wolf was already feeling a bit better, his advanced healing abilities working in overdrive. Steve’s blue eyes were clearer and when he looked at Tony as he propped his mate up against the wall his gaze was focused on Tony’s face. But Tony wasn’t about to take any chances. Running his hand across Steve’s brow and brushing Steve’s bangs back, Tony clicked the microphone on his earpiece back on with his free hand. “Bruce, I need you down here now.”

There was a short pause before Bruce responded. Tony wasn’t sure what the beta was up to but he sounded distracted as he finally replied. “ _That will be a little difficult!”_

Well that was just too bad, “I need you here _now_. Steve got knocked out. He came to but I think he has a concussion or something.” Steve winced but didn’t argue with Tony’s assessment, which in itself spoke volumes.

“ _Where are you?_ ” Apparently difficulty didn’t matter to Bruce anymore. Tony had his attention.

“In the main machinery room on the ground floor at the west end of the hall.”

“ _I’m on my way_.”            

Tony didn’t bother to think about what sort of obstacles Bruce would be facing on his way inside. It was sure to be riddled with gun-toting men but with Thor, Clint, and Natasha running around Bruce wouldn’t be completely alone as he entered the building. Instead, all of his focus narrowed in on Steve as he straightened up against the wall and managed to raise his hand up to rub at his dust-covered hair. “Tony?”

“Hey. You back with me?”

He watched as Steve grimaced and slid his hand down his face. “What happened?”

“A three-story brick wall partition fell on you.”

“…Feels like it.”

“I’ll bet.” Tony’s eyes skipped over Steve’s face, looking for any more signs of disorientation or momentary amnesia but the Wolf seemed to be pulling himself together. He caught the small movements in Steve’s arms as he made to push himself up again and once again Tony held him down. “I don’t think so; you don’t get to move quite yet. Bruce is coming to check you out. _Then_ we can go back to kicking some more ass.”

A growl rolled up Steve’s throat but he reluctantly lowered his butt back to the floor. “You should be going after Hammer.”

“Don’t worry about that. As soon as Bruce gets here I’m ditching you and hunting him down.” Before Steve had his run in with a grenade, there had been little else on Tony’s mind. Where was Hammer? With Steve and Natasha coming in from the service door and Thor and Clint barging in through the front, he had been sure that they would have run into Hammer somewhere in the middle. But no one had called it in yet and he hadn’t been able to make anything out on the cameras outside. But somehow at the same time Tony was _sure_ that Hammer was there. He couldn’t catch the man’s scent—there were too many other human males running around for his nose to be able to pick Hammer’s particular odor out from among them—but something inside Tony said that he was around and he wasn’t going to leave until they had torn the place apart looking for him.

“Tony…”

Steve’s voice brought Tony abruptly back to the present and he looked down to find his mate’s eyes on him and a serious expression on his face. “What?”

“Unless Hammer attacks you first, bring him back alive.”

“What?” Tony’s brows knit in confusion. Was he still on that? A fucking _wall_ had just come down on Steve and Hammer hadn’t been the one holding the grenade launcher but he had built the damn thing _and_ hired the mercenary who had been holding it. If that plus kidnapping Peter wasn’t a good enough reason to kill someone, Tony didn’t know what was.

But Steve just sucked in a breath to steady himself and shook his head. “Bring him back alive so we can hand him over to the police.”

Snorting, Tony shook his head. “We’ll see. An ‘accident’ might happen when I find him.”

“Don’t stoop to his level, Tony. You’re better than that.”

“No, _you’re_ better than that.”

“So are you.”

Tony barely had the chance to give his mate an exasperated look before he heard an unnatural roar echo out from where he knew Clint and Thor were. Hearing heavy footfalls racing toward them, Tony instinctively jumped in front of Steve and pressed him back up against the wall and a second later there was a loud _bang_ from the doorway into the factory floor. Tony’s eyes flashed over in time to see Bruce’s Wolf slam into the wooden doorframe again with an angry roar. It was most likely angry because it couldn’t fit through the doorway but with a slash of his claws and one more slam against the doorframe the Wolf solved that problem as the frame and a few rows of bricks around it collapsed and crumbled to the floor.

Tensing as the Wolf tumbled though, Tony watched with wary eyes as the Shifter tore its way across the room, snarling and clawing at the heavy machinery as its nose constantly and audibly scented the air. There were large patches of blood on its fur that Tony didn’t think came from the Wolf but from someone who had been unfortunate enough to get in its way. It didn’t take long for it to find their trail, change course, and run towards them but before Tony even had to start making a plan about what he was going to do if the Wolf didn’t stop by the time it reached them, Bruce was already shifting back.

Bruce gave Tony a weary grin as he took his last few shaky steps towards them with feet that were fully human and doubled over as he reached them to try and catch his breath. The Beta panted heavily but his eyes were already on Steve, assessing his injuries.   “I, I got here as quickly as I could!”

Tony let out a breath he had been holding and shook his head. “Yeah, I can see that…” He’d congratulate his friend on the control he had over his ability to shift at will back to human form later.

Steve looked equally impressed but any praise he would have given seemed to be stamped out by the pain still in his body. Tony didn’t blame him; there wasn’t a lot that could knock Steve out like that, he probably wasn’t used to the feeling. “Do whatever you can to get me back into fighting shape, Bruce. We need to finish this up.”

“I’ll see what I can do but,” Bruce paused as he crouched down beside Steve, checking his eyes and the injuries on his head, “Steve, I don’t know if I would recommend that you get back in the fighting.”

Tony felt a flare of anxiety well up in his chest but pushed it back down. Bruce’s words weren’t a surprise, he knew Steve had taken a bad hit, but they hadn’t even found Hammer yet. Who knew what else was waiting for them? They needed Steve in the field; he was the guy with all the plans, the one who led the missions!

All three of them looked up and yet another set of footsteps raced towards them, this time barely audible, and a moment later Clint appeared in the destroyed doorway. It didn’t take the Hawk long to spot them and he was at their side a second later. “There you are!” His eyes widened as they landed on Steve.

But Tony didn’t want to explain why Steve was on the floor. He wanted to know something first. “How’d you get out of there?” The last Tony had heard he and Thor had still been fairly overwhelmed by men with big guns.

Clint gave them all a crooked smile. “Some big Wolf-creature just bowled through and slashed through most of the guys lined up against us.”

Bruce let out a soft snort but didn’t comment. Again, Tony didn’t have the time to waste time talking about things that could wait. “Where’s Thor?”

“Bruce might’ve knocked him over on his way through. He’s fine, just cleaning up the mess now. Is Steve okay?”

Tony glanced down to where Bruce had gone back to examining Steve and nodded. “He’ll be okay.” And he appreciated Clint’s concern but that didn’t explain what he was doing there. “What do you need?”

That brought Clint’s seriousness back. “I found where they’ve all been coming from. One of the thugs took off when he saw Bruce rush in. I chased him to a door and it looks like it leads down into a basement. Tasha went to help Thor up in the front but I was looking for Steve to give the go-ahead to see what’s waiting for us downstairs.”

That must be where they had Hammer. “Steve’s temporarily out of commission so I’m giving the go-ahead. In fact, I’m coming with you. Let’s go.”

Now that Bruce was sitting with Steve Tony didn’t feel too bad about leaving. Particularly after what Clint had just said. If it was true that there was a basement to this place and that was where the remainder of the mercenaries were holed up then there might not be too much here on the main floors anymore.

At Tony’s words, Clint immediately turned and began to head back out and Tony was hot on his heels. He could feel his pulse pounding in his chest and for half a second wondered if it was healthy for him to have so much adrenaline coursing through him, then decided that it didn’t matter. He had shit to do.

Clint led him back through the factory towards the entrance but about halfway there he turned right down a hall and stopped in front of a suspicious looking door. It was suspicious in that it was one of the few Tony had seen that looked like it had been replaced since the factory had closed and it had been reinforced with metal and boasted a large lock. Tony was ready to snap it off but blinked in surprise as he realized that it was already unlocked which was so unexpected that it made him actually stop and think for a minute. It could be unlocked for the obvious answer, that they were coming up out of whatever bunker they had down there so quickly that it didn’t make sense for them to lock the door when they needed quick access what whatever was down there. Or it was a trap. One of the two was true. These guys were too professional to forget to fasten the lock if the door was supposed to be secured.

Reaching out, Tony poked at the door and it creaked open an inch at the slightest amount of pressure. He could already see that it would open right up into a stairwell heading down, though, which was probably what Clint had spotted before he came to alert Steve. “Okay,” Tony sighed. “Here’s how we’re going to do this. You stay behind me, Clint, and take out anyone you see who doesn’t look like Justin Hammer.”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the guy before.”

“He looks like a giant douchebag. And he’ll probably be the only one wearing a three-piece suit.”

Clint grinned and notched an arrow in his bow. “Should be easy enough to spot.”

Pushing the door the rest of the way open, Tony cautiously descended down the stairs and for once made use of every bit of stealth his Shifter form provided him. Luckily Clint could be light on his feet when he wanted to also so they were nearly silent as the crept down the stairs. Tony could sense the tautness of Clint’s drawn bowstring just behind him and it served as a reminder that he was currently unarmed. Which made it seem like a really dumb decision to go down first but his alpha instincts wouldn’t have allowed anything different. Besides, he could probably take a bullet better than Clint could and Clint would have an arrow through the enemy’s eye before they could fire a second round. At least Tony could tell himself that.

Tony trained all of his senses on what was going on below as they crept down the stairwell. He couldn’t hear anything but he could _feel_ that there were definitely people down there which sounded ridiculous but was an instinct that had never led Tony astray. Even if he wasn’t sure if it was a combination of sensory hints or some sort of instinctive knowledge he appreciated it all the same and prepared himself for an encounter with an enemy.

When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs it quickly became apparent that they weren’t actually in a basement but instead in a small room with multiple doorways leading off to a series of long corridors. It was probably a set of utility tunnels that connected all the different buildings in the compound. It wasn’t an uncommon find in multi-structure constructions built back then and if nothing else would have made it easier to pass through the different buildings during the freezing winter months. It was hardly lit—might not even have been that well lit when it was still in service—and it took Tony’s eyes a minute to adjust to the low light levels.

There was no one immediately around them but judging by the scents in the room someone had just been there a moment ago. In fact, Tony swore he could almost feel their body heat lingering in the air.

Yup, it was definitely a trap.

Almost as soon as the thought clicked in place there was a rustle in one of the doorways and then a second doorway and a third and suddenly they were surrounded. Tony dropped back into a fighting stance with his fists up in the air but he didn’t like his chances men stepped out, one in each door and each carrying a high-powered automatic rifle. In such a tight space there wouldn’t be much room for them to dodge the bullets.

“Go, Tony! I’ve got this!”

Tony started and glanced back to see that Clint was taking aim. “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone with this assholes.”

“He won’t be alone.”

Natasha seemed to materialize from the freaking shadows as she leapt from the stairwell and landed neatly beside Clint, her weapons already drawn. Clint grinned at her as the men surrounding them took an uncertain step back. Either they had heard from a buddy that she was a killing machine or she just looked the part. “Perfect timing, Nat!” Turning back around, Clint furrowed his brow and nodded his head to the side. “Get out of here, Tony!”

Tony was about to protest but then the mercenaries, having apparently fully assessed the situation, gave a nod to one another and began shooting. It all happened within a matter of seconds; one moment Tony was standing on his feet, ready to stay and fight and the next Natasha planted a firm boot to the middle of his back, making him stumble forward and nearly fall flat on his face. He let out a hiss but the bullets flying his way went right over his head and he was just barely able to keep his feet. The momentum had carried him within five feet of one of the gunman and as irritated as Tony was for having been literally kicked out of the fight he wasn’t going to run without at least helping them out a bit. The man he had tumbled towards had backed up a few steps and was quickly readjusting the aim on his weapon. Before he fired though, Tony had surged forward and twisted his body so that he could slip under the long barrel on the rifle. He used the temporary protection to his advantage and clumsily mimicked a move he had seen Natasha use before by ducking into a crouch and sweeping one leg out to knock the man off of his feet. It worked due solely to Tony’s ability to move swiftly and smoothly as a Cat, and the man shouted as he was roughly thrown off balance. He didn’t take the time to incapacitate him any further than that though and took his chance to push by the gunman and escape down the tunnel he had been standing in front of.

Closing his eyes as he got further away from the chaos behind him, Tony focused, really focused on just the scents, and barely managed to pick out a particularly familiar odor: Hammer. He had been through here a day ago or sooner. If Steve or Bruce were here they might have been able to tell what state the man was in but Tony didn’t really care. It wouldn’t change his plans any.

It was dark as he walked, the way lit by an antique-looking electrical line stapled to the mortared ceiling supporting e about a dozen dim, bare lightbulbs that were barely strong enough to cast some light to the floor.  Tony was mentally keeping track of where the tunnels were leading him and what might be waiting for them on the surface and when they started to get close to another one of the old buildings above ground which probably meant there were more open rooms and corridors coming up.

Tony was unsurprised to find that he was correct. It happened more often than not but luckily this was one of those cases where it actually mattered. He could tell from the smell of the air in the halls that it wasn’t one that they had lived in per say, but that they probably used on occasion for…it looked like they used it mostly for storage judging by the crates and shelves stacked with a strange mix of weaponry, ammunition, and basic home supplies. But evil soldiers of fortune needed toilet paper too. No one seemed to be around but they had all probably been called in to help fight against the pack as they pushed their way inside. The room, like the halls, was poorly lit and Tony made sure to check every part of the long, winding room built into the tunnel system. And he was glad he did. As Tony snuck around a corner he caught a flash of heavy looking vertical bars and he had to do a short double-take before it clicked in his head that what he was seeing was the front few inches of an old-fashioned-esque jail cell façade.  Apparently they stored their hostages down here too.

Getting the confirmation he needed with one more deep inhale, Tony cautiously reached up and clicked his microphone on, whispering into it as he slunk closer to the cell. “I’ve got Hammer. From now on, use codenames, except for me.” He might overhear and Hammer couldn’t find out that Tony was seriously involved with their group’s activities with SHIELD. But more than that, Tony didn’t want him finding out any more than he had to about the rest of the Pack. Tony might make fun of him every chance he got, but Hammer had resources and was smart enough to be dangerous.

Tony silently slunk closer with a predatory look in eyes. The adrenaline that had been feeding into his system for the past hour or so had faded into a sense of calm he didn’t know he could obtain during the heat of a mission. It had been a long time since he had felt such an animalistic feeling run through him, like he was bearing down on cornered prey after a long hunt, and it made his blood sing. Even before he was able to get inside, the scent in the air only grew more concentrated as he moved forward and told him all he needed to know. And as the cell’s occupant came into view it was confirmed.

Smirking as he walked up to the bars, Tony knew he had an ugly look in his eyes as he sneered at Justin Hammer who was resting on a large foam pallet pushed up against the back corner of the cell. “Well isn’t this a nice turn of events. Look who’s in a cage now?” At least this cage was built for a human. From what Peter had told him and Steve about his experience in Hammer’s custody, he had stuck their son in something that more closely resembled a dog crate. Which still would have been inhumane but might have at least been a bit more comfortable if Peter had actually been able to shift but as it was…As it was, Tony definitely still wanted to claw Hammer’s face off.

The way Hammer jumped when Tony spoke was satisfying in its own way. He started up from the pallet, the suit dirty and rumpled like he had lived in it and slept in it for four days, and blinked at him with eyes so wide it was as if he had just seen a ghost. “Tony Stark? Is that you?”

Yeah, Tony supposed that Hammer would be surprised to see him. As far as the asshole knew Tony was just the owner of Stark Industries. “The one and only.”

“What are you doing here?”

He looked at Hammer as he paced in front of his cell. It would be so easily to kill him. He was trapped like a rat in a cage and all Tony would have to do is break off the lock on the cell door and rush inside. Hammer would have nowhere to run and Tony could eviscerate him in a matter of seconds. The predator part of his mind was hungry for it but his human side…there were certain things Tony’s human side couldn’t allow. If he couldn’t hold back for himself he was sure as hell going to do it for Steve. And once he got Hammer out he was going to spend every dollar he needed to in order to make sure Hammer spent the rest of his natural life behind an even bigger set of bars. “I’m here to get you home.”

Hammer sat up straighter and raised his eyebrows in shock. “Really? Wow, how unexpected.”

“Don’t think that you’re off the hook yet. By ‘home’ I meant jail, you son of a bitch.”                     

Hammer deflated a bit and rolled his eyes. “Right. I guess jail would be better than this. I’m pretty sure they’re going to kill me.”

Snorting, Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “What did they lock you in here for?” If Tony had been in the gang, he definitely would’ve killed Hammer by now. Leave him alive and you had to feed him and transport him. And, worse, you had to keep listening to him.

“They sent a ransom to my manager to try and get some money out of him to get me back.”

Tony shrugged. If they thought Hammer owed them money, it made sense. Plus, what was he going to do, go to the cops afterwards? And say what, that the mercenaries he hired to murder Tony had turned against him?

It took Tony longer than it should have to get the lock off but he couldn’t just break it off with Hammer watching. So he had to pick the lock. It was a good thing for Hammer that Tony could actually do that but it was a mechanical thing so it didn’t take Tony long to figure out how it worked and then how to get it open. Hammer slipped out as soon as he was able like the slimy little thing he was. “So how are we going to get out of here? I assume you have some sort of plan?”

Tony was already walking him back out and was already tired of his shit. Snarling, he stalked back the way they came. Sure, that was back toward the bad guys but it was also back toward the rest of the pack. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out. I didn’t come alone. But a little appreciation wouldn’t be out of place. Look at the mess you and your company made! And you still didn’t learn a damn thing from all of this did you?”

“It was just business, Tony!”

Tony hissed at Hammer’s nonchalant response. “That’s bullshit! ‘Businesses’ do not require hiring armed thugs to take out their competition. They do it by being better! Something Hammer Industries never was able to do!”

“I did whatever I had to do to keep my company running.”

“You killed people! For money!”

“You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.”

“See? You still don’t get it! You can’t treat people like they’re expendable.”

“That’s rich, coming from you. You treat the entire world like it’s your toy box. Besides, it’s hardly like you’re really a saint yourself, and your company’s made some enemies too.”

“Yeah, _you_!”

On second thought, Tony probably shouldn’t have shouted that last bit. Not his most brilliant moment but it was either get his anger out by yelling or by clawing a hole in Hammer’s chest so he figured he chose well between the two options. The world seemed to hold its breath before the inevitable happened and Tony’s ears caught the sound of boots racing towards them. Sounded like it was time to get back down to business.

He heard Hammer let out a shout of surprise as two soldiers raced down the hall at them. They had already left the room Hammer had been kept in and the mercenaries cut off their path going forward. Tony spun around and grimaced as another armed man appeared at the other end of the tunnel, effectively trapping them. With Hammer right next to him, he wasn’t going to be able to use his Shifter abilities. He really didn’t give a shit what his competitor thought of him but he knew that Hammer was enough of a snake to turn around and start spouting off to every newscaster who offered to pay him a nickel that Tony Stark was Cat Shifter.

Tony growled and pushed Hammer behind him as three men ran at them. He kept his movements as controlled as possible when he slammed his fist into one of their faces. Hammer screamed, actually screamed, as the man went down, instantly knocked out. Diving down, Tony grabbed the fallen man’s gun out of its holster and threw himself into a roll. He ended up crouched down on his knees and brought the gun up, aimed it at one of the two men left standing, and shot him right above his collarbone, the bullet hitting just above his Kevlar vest. Clint and Natasha would have been proud.

As he was admiring his work, Hammer, who at this point had been cowering against the wall, let out a shout and pointed to something behind Tony. That was all the warning Tony got before a thick cord was thrown around his neck. Shocked that someone had managed to get the jump on him, Tony gasped as the man behind him tightened the cord, the force of it yanking him back. He reached up with his free hand and clawed at it. The man was clearly putting all of his strength in trying to choke him but as soon as Tony slipped his fingers around the cord he was able to regain control. With one hard pull, Tony tugged the cord away from his neck and bent over at the same time, causing the man behind him to go flying over Tony’s shoulders and land hard on his back on the ground in front of Tony. Tony didn’t give him the chance to recover and used the gun he was still holding onto and shot two rounds at the killer. The first missed its mark but the second landed solidly near the man’s collarbone, causing him to fall to his knees in agony.       

“Jesus Christ, Tony!” Tony twitched as Hammer’s voice burst out behind him where he had hidden against the wall through the entire fight. “Where the hell did that come from? No wonder you were so hard to kill.”

“I work out.” Tony switched on the safety on the gun and slipped it into his waistband. It still had a few rounds in it and if he was going to be stuck with Hammer for a little while longer he wanted a way to fight that didn’t involve teeth and claws.

“No kidding.” Hammer stood over the man Tony had shot in the head with his hands on his hips. His expression was far too fascinated for Tony’s liking. “That must be one hell of an exercise routine.”

“It is. Now how about you shut up and start walking? We don’t have time for this.” Turning the mic on his headset back on, Tony growled into it, breaking his own rule and using Steve’s name since he figured Hammer would recognize him from all the media coverage they had received over the years.  “Steve. I’ve got Hammer and I need to put him somewhere before I kill him.”

Hammer released an indignant huff. “Hey!”

“Shut up!”

Tony couldn’t tell if Steve was amused, exasperated, or relieved as he replied. “ _Bring him to the main entrance. Hulk and I moved to that location and have it locked down_.” Well at least Steve was keeping up with the code names. And it sounded like he had been a bit busy himself.

“Let’s just hope we get there before they bring out the big guns.”

Hammer’s offhand comment made a cold spark run up Tony’s spine and he glared back over his shoulder as they continued their way down the hall. “You are either going to explain what you mean by that or you’re going to shut up. Otherwise I’m shooting you in the foot.”

“Relax, Tony.” It was unbelievable how the man could be so dismissive after Tony had just taken out three trained enemy combatants in front of him. “And I mean if anyone is still alive then they haven’t brought out the good stuff yet. This is s a tunnel system that was used to transport raw materials running beneath the buildings and they’re all full. This is their main North American base of operations; they’ve got like thirty more men down there with some pretty impressive firepower. You should have seen everything they took. They got into the vault with my access code. I’ll tell you what, when I get out of here I’m definitely looking into a more secure facility.”

Shit. For once, Tony hated it that his hunch turned out to be correct. The mercenary group did have a lot of weapons down here and they hadn’t even seen the worst of it yet. Choking back another curse, Tony flipped his mic back on. “We’ve got a problem.  What we’ve seen is just the tip of the iceburg. It sounds like the only reason they haven’t used any of the bombs against us yet is because they don’t think we’re worth it yet.”

_“Understood._ ” There was no mistaking the tension that had now settled in Steve’s voice. “ _But I don’t intend to stick around long enough for them to use those bombs on us. As soon as you get here, we’re leaving_.”

As they continued to walk through the tunnel, Tony’s body was drawn up tense as Clint’s bow string. He didn’t like not knowing how many more mercenaries were out there and exactly what sort of weapons they’d be dealing with. And he didn’t like having Hammer at his back as he walked. The guy had tried to kill him, who said he wouldn’t take this opportunity to give it one more shot? But he didn’t trust Hammer to be out in front of him either so he would just have to hope that the man didn’t have any weapons on him.

They had almost reached the room where Tony had last seen Clint and Natasha when things got even worse: the already shitty lighting overhead blinked out, dropping Tony and Hammer into near complete darkness. Hammer let out a shout of surprise and Tony’s hands went straight to his headset. “We lost light. Someone talk to me, what happened?”

It was almost completely pitch black, the kind of darkness Tony had only ever experienced in caves. If he were the type who believed in ghosts, this would be when someone would come out of the walls and grab him. There was a long moment of silence before Clint picked up. “ _Sounds like they cut the generator_. _I’m moving in to get a better look_.”

“Perfect.” At least Natasha and Steve were carrying night-vision binoculars; they could use those to a certain degree to get by. Of course it was probably a little easier to see in the upper levels where they would hopefully be getting a little light from the outside coming in.

Tony’s eyes had instantly began to adjust themselves but it seemed like Hammer wasn’t having as much luck as he crashed into Tony’s back. “Ow! Damn it—How can you see anything? Am I going blind? Do I need cataract surgery, what’s happening here?”

“Calm down, my eyes just adjusted faster than yours. Just, here, grab on to the back of my shirt or something.” Letting Hammer get himself lost wouldn’t do him any good.

Tony was just able to make out the forms of the bodies left behind in the room Clint and Natasha had fought in. Tony looked at each face just long enough to ensure that it wasn’t anyone he knew before guiding Hammer to the staircase and up to the main floor. Once they were out of the tunnels there was enough light coming in from the dirt-covered windows that Tony was able to see fairly well and even Hammer was stumbling less. It took a minute for Tony to remember which way the main entrance was from where he was standing but he managed to catch a whiff of Steve and Bruce’s scent that took him straight there.

When they finally got there, Tony was relieved to see that Bruce and Steve both had flashlights and were keeping a careful eye on the shadows around them. As Wolves, their night vision was still far better than humans but much better adapted to dusk or dawn conditions than full darkness. But Tony was even more relieved to see that Steve was sitting up straight against the wall instead of slouched over and he definitely looked more alert. Tony instantly moved toward him.  “Steve! You look better.”

Steve hardly looked at Tony; his eyes had locked onto Hammer as soon as they had stepped into their flashlight beams. “I’m getting there.” He made to push himself up to his feet and Tony knew better than to stop him, hovering near-by instead in case Steve looked unsteady on his feet.

Hammer, the idiot, walked right over to them, looking far too confident for the situation even though Tony could smell the fear wafting off of him and he knew Steve would be able to as well. Hammer walked up to Steve and held his hand out in greeting. “Oh, hey, look. Isn’t this great, I get to meet the boyfriend. Steve Rogers, Justin Hammer. Let me just say it’s a real pleasure and let me apologize for that little misunderstanding with your son.”

Steve stared coldly down at him and let him squirm for a moment before speaking. “Turn around.”

“Turn around?” Hammer raised his brow but did as Steve said and turned his back to him. “Okay, I’m not sure where this is going but, oh—“ Steve had reached into his belt,  pulled out a pair of handcuffs, yanked Hammer’s arms behind his back, and efficiently fastened the cuffs around Hammer’s wrists. “There we go, okay. Are the restraints really necessary?”

“Yes. Sit down.”

“You are a very serious individual.”

Steve stared down at Hammer again then moved. Quicker than the human eye, Steve slammed his hand against the wall right next to Hammer’s face hard enough so that the tile under his palm cracked. The man went pale and whatever smart remark he had ready to fall off his tongue died on his lips. Steve narrowed his eyes and Tony was pretty sure Hammer pissed his pants when Steve finally spoke, his voice dropped low into a dangerous snarl. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about me or what my reputation is among humans but let’s get one thing very clear. If you try to escape, try to harm me, Tony, or any member of my pack in any way, or otherwise attempt to sabotage our mission, I will take very real pleasure in tearing your throat out with my teeth. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes. That’s pretty clear.”

“Alright.”

Tony couldn’t help the grim smile that spread across his face watching Steve intimidate Hammer. It brought a special sort of joy to his life to see it. Moving forward, he grabbed a hold of Steve’s arm and pulled him a few feet away so they could talk without being overheard.  “Just bringing Hammer up here has pretty much depleted by store of patience for the month. Can’t we just kill him?”

Steve let out a huff that might have been a laugh then shook his head. “I want him dead as bad as you do, Tony, but we need to take him to the police and have him properly charged with his crimes.”

“That’s ridiculous! What if he gets off at the trial?” Tony brain knew it wasn’t ridiculous but his crappy, damaged heart didn’t.

“He won’t. We have more than enough evidence to convict him with. Now Thor needs help. I was about to go but—“

“No, you stay here to help B—Hulk with Hammer.” That was a close slip-up. He was going to have to start watching what he said. “And I’m not about to leave when you’re recovering from a semi-serious head injury.”

Steve sighed but nodded before leaning forward and bumping their forehead together. He pressed a quick kiss to Tony’s lips and then he was pulling away. “Fine. Go, help Thor and then we’re out of here.”

“I’ll do my best. Have someone get the car and pull it around up front, will you? I doubt I’ll feel much like walking after this.”

Steve smirked dryly and gently pushed Tony away. “I’ll see what I can do.”

O~O

Steve took a moment to reassess the situation after Tony reluctantly run off. He was just as reluctant to let his mate go off on his own but he didn’t have too much of a choice in the matter right now, not with the condition he was in. At least he had something to do now, even if it was just guarding the likes of Justin Hammer.

Bruce had Tony’s laptop open and was trying to access the security systems he had abandoned, clearly having no desire to risk going back outside by himself to return to the guard booth. Steve was happy to have him there if for no other reason than to help keep him sane. He could still make calls about how to handle the mission but it was killing him that he wouldn’t be able to get back into the middle of the fray when he knew that the others were out their fighting. Speaking of which…Steve let out a breath before addressing his headset. Tony hadn’t been polite about asking for it, but now that the enemy knew they were here one of the easiest options for them to escape would be to pull the car right up to the front door. Otherwise, they would all have to go running back through the woods and it would increase each of their chances of getting shot down. Especially Hammer’s chances. And whoever would end up having to carry him after he couldn’t keep up.

But by having someone go out to get the car would be putting that single person at risk, so the smartest thing to do was to send a person  who quick, able to keep out of view, and who worked the well alone. Clint was an option but there was really only one choice in Steve’s mind.  “Widow, are you free?”

There was a short pause before Natasha answered him, her voice drawn tight. “ _That depends on your definition. What do you need?”_

“We need you to go get the car and drive it up to the front of the building. We got what we need, now we need to get out.”

She heaved a sigh into her microphone but Steve could almost see her nod. “ _Understood!_ ”

O~O

Finishing off the last of the men who had corned her in one of the side rooms, Natasha snatched up one of their rifles and slung it over her shoulder. She had used up all of her own ammo but luckily she had her pick of theirs now that they were all unconscious or dead. Knowing that she didn’t have any time to waste, Natasha went up. She clamored up into the rafters, wishing as she did so that she was able to climb as well as Peter could in her human form, then efficiently kicked out one of the rusted windows and climbed through.  From there it was easy to run across the roofline and jump to the ground, the abilities granted to her as a Shifter allowing her to easily absorb the impact from the three-story drop.

She lingered in a crouch for a moment to give her eyes the chance to adjust. It was actually brighter outside thanks to the light provided by the lingering sunset on the western horizon and the glow coming off of the moon. As she did so, she listened. Her hearing wasn’t as good as Steve or Bruce’s and paled in comparison to Clint’s but if she really stretched out her senses it was as if she could feel when others were around. Slight changes in heat, small movements in the air, when she focused she was able to feel them all. It made her very, very good at her job. And it was a blessing now because she could immediately tell that the woods were no longer as empty as before.

Natasha couldn’t see them, hear them, or smell them but she knew they were there. Just behind the trees, behind the other buildings, watching her. It was an unsettling feeling but what they didn’t know is that she was just as aware of them as they were of her. But she wasn’t so stupid that she was willing to engage them in an open fire-fight. So she headed for the part of the forest that seemed the least crowded as fast as her feet could carry her.

She made it to the tree-line without them firing off a single shot but that wasn’t too unexpected if they thought they still had the element of surprise on their side. So much the better for her. She could hear them now as they began to give chase. They were human so they weren’t able to keep up but they were smart and were almost tag-teaming her and attempting to flank her. They got close a few times and she finally started to run as bullets began to whiz by her but they were never quite close enough to hit her.

Natasha frowned and glanced back over her shoulder as she darted in between tree trunks and cleanly swung herself over large rocks and bushes. But as quickly as she was moving, the men behind her now were doing an impressive job of almost keeping up.  Swearing under her breath in Russian, Natasha tapped her earpiece to turn her mic on. “I think I’ve found where the rest of those mercenaries are: in the woods. They must have come up from the tunnels through the other buildings. And I’ve got a pretty persistent tail!”

Steve immediately answered back. “ _Do what it takes to lose them. If you can’t get to the car, try and swing back around and get back into the building._ ”

“Understood.” And she understood what Steve _hadn’t_ said. He couldn’t afford to send anyone out to help her right now. While she knew Steve himself would probably come limping out to her rescue if she pressed the matter she reminded herself to keep that in mind and only ask for back-up if she was sure that she needed it.

Natasha had made a mental note of where they had parked their SUV but didn’t make a bee-line for it, choosing to snake her way to it instead so that the mercenaries couldn’t anticipate her end goal and beat her to it. Because that’s exactly what she would do if she were in their shoes.

But as she got closer to their parking space she realized that it might be too late for that.

O~O

Steve straightened up as he heard the soft crackle of his earpiece about to sound off.  “ _We have a problem!_ ”

It was Natasha. Looking at Bruce, Steve walked over to the front door as quickly as his still-strained muscles would allow. He hadn’t sat back down since Tony had deposited Hammer into his custody. His body wasn’t thanking him for it but his pride wouldn’t let him do anything different. “What happened?”

“ _Our ride’s been disintegrated. It looks like someone hit it with an RPG about five minutes ago. I hope Tony had a good insurance policy on it_.”

Steve’s heart sank and Bruce’s gaze flashed up and met his. They had no way out. Were they being played for fools the whole time? By Hammer? A quick check of his face told him that, no, Hammer was looking and smelling genuinely anxious. But that didn’t mean the mercenaries couldn’t use him as an unwitting pawn. From what Tony had told him, Steve was certain they intended to ransom Hammer back off to his company but there was no reason they wouldn’t be taking advantage of the arrival of the Pack. They weren’t just another Shifter pack. This wasn’t even Hydra, half scientists, half science experiments. These were professional killers and they knew what they were doing. Something in Steve’s mind switched at that moment and he knew this was no longer about making sure the mission ran smoothly; this was about survival.

They wouldn’t last alone. They needed to regroup.

Swallowing, Steve turned away from Hammer and Bruce and rumbled into his microphone. “Widow, do what you have to in order to get back here. Everyone else, hold your ground until we find a new exit route.” Before he even received an acknowledgment, Steve had already spun around and was looking back at Bruce. He heard a dull _boom_ in the distance and it just made what he was about to say that much more important. “Do you have any access to the security systems yet?”

Bruce let out a long breath and nodded. “Yeah, I just got back into their network remotely. “

That was one point in their favor. “Then do whatever you can to lock this place down as soon as Widow gets back. The tunnel system will be a wild card but I want to know as soon as one of them breaches our perimeter.”  He didn’t know what the security system was capable of, how it matched up to what Steve had grown accustomed to after living with Tony for so long, and it was possible he was asking a lot of Bruce, but he needed all the help his Beta could give him. And judging by the look in Bruce’s eyes, he understood that.

“ _Steve?_ ”

It was Natasha. Steve’s focus automatically snapped back to what she was saying. She wasn’t talkative during their missions after she received her orders so he knew whatever she was about to say wasn’t going to be good. “Go for Steve.”

“ _I could use a little help out here. They’ve cut off my return path to the factory and they just fired another one of their RPGs at me that got uncomfortably close._ ” Damn, _that_ was what that ‘boom’ was a few seconds ago.

Before Steve could respond someone had already jumped on the line. Clint. “ _Hold on, Widow! I’m coming!_ ” Steve wanted to shake his head. Strategically, sending Thor or risking sending Bruce out would be a better choice and make up for some of the weaknesses Natasha had but he knew that Clint would do whatever was necessary to keep Natasha safe.

“Watch your back, Hawkeye. You and Widow take out as many of them as you can but don’t put yourself in unnecessary risk. And I want the both of you back in here as soon as possible. Tony, Thor, you get back here as quickly as you can too and we can all assemble by the main entrance. We’ll have to figure out a new way out of here.”

As Steve was expecting, the new command got a response from Tony. “ _They’ve got to have some sort of vehicle around here. If I can get to it, I’m sure I’d be able to hotwire it!_ ” As tense as he sounded, Steve was glad to hear his mate’s voice. It helped to calm and center him and convince him that, at least for now, Tony was alright. It didn’t hurt that he also made a good suggestion.

“You’re right, but without a known destination though we’d be wandering all over the compound looking for a car or truck. That could open us up to new attacks. There’s something I want to try before we reach that point.”

“ _Whatever you say. You’re the man with the plan, big dog.”_

Shaking his head at the nickname, Steve looked back up to redirect his attention to Bruce. “Can you get me a radio signal out?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah, I should be able to do that. I’ll have to direct some of my focus to from the security system but Tony’s computer should be capable of that…”As he spoke, Bruce’s fingers were already flying across the keyboard as he pulled a new window up onto the screen.  

“Good. Make it happen. And that’s fine. We can’t do anything about trying to lock the building down until we get Widow and Hawkeye back in.”

Hammer, who until that point had been silently watching the whole exchange, chose then to speak up. “Who are you calling?”

Given their situation, Steve saw no point in lying about this particular matter but he didn’t so much as look at the man as he answered his question. “I’m going to use SHEILD’s frequency to reach anyone who can hear me.” It was a long shot but there was a chance that it would work.

Bruce didn’t seem to share his optimism and reached up to nervously adjust his glasses before pushing his fingers back through his hair. “There’s no way anyone would be out here, Steve. The signal won’t reach far enough to even reach the local police station or park ranger with just this laptop, even if it is Tony’s.”

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

“What does that mean?”

Sighing, Steve gave a little shrug as he turned his flashlight back towards the dark spaces that were pressing in around them. He liked setting up their meeting point at the main entrance. They already knew the layout, there were highpoints for Clint and Natasha to position themselves in, there was an exterior door that they would be able to control, and it formed a natural bottleneck so they wouldn’t be ambushed by a horde of over-armed soldiers. But more than that, it was noticeable and if anyone came for them, this would be the first place they would look. If the back-up plan Steve had established worked, this is where things would happen. “Before we left, I sent out a coded message to Phil in case we had an emergency. Hopefully he received it and has his ears on.” If he had learned nothing else from all the years he had spent leading the Pack and—prior to that—the Howling Commandoes, it was that you should always have a Plan “B”.

O~O

Tony scowled, Steve’s words ringing in his ears. Sometimes he made too much sense for his own good. As soon as Tony had heard Natasha come on the line and say that their ride had been destroyed, he had been ready to race around the whole facility and look for one of theirs. They hadn’t just appeared out of thin air, they had to have some sort of transportation around. But then Steve had gone and made a logical argument for why that was a stupid idea. He probably still would’ve done it but he had heard the real concern in his mate’s voice. The situation hadn’t gotten bad enough where the alpha Wolf had allowed fear to creep into his tone, but Tony had lived with him long enough to know that they were getting uncomfortably close to that point.  

By that point, Tony had run to nearly the other end of the building. He had been following the Lion’s scent but he knew he was getting close when he heard Thor let out an impressive battle cry as he undoubtedly beat someone’s face in with his fist. There was one door left in between him and Thor and after speeding up he used his shoulder to make short work of it. Tony realized the thing was probably unlocked as he heard the wood splinter but that was fine because getting the door open wasn’t the only reason he wanted to make a dramatic entrance.

Just as Tony intended the two men left standing around Thor instantly looked over as Tony burst into the room. That gave Thor the chance he needed to take out one of them and Tony charged the other. A bullet grazed Tony’s shoulder as he rushed forward but ignored the sharp sting of pain and snarled as he leapt at the man, jumping straight at the soldier’s center mass. He bowled him over and landed on top of him with a grunt then, as quick as he could, rolled over and wrapped the soldier up in a choke-hold. The man fought back and if Tony were human he probably would have been able to throw him off but as it was Tony managed to keep pressure on the man’s neck until he finally fell limp in Tony’s arms and lost consciousness.  

The room fell silent and Tony rolled off of the mercenary to look around for Thor. The Lion was lowering the body of the soldier he had gone toe to toe with to the ground. Tony saw some blood coming out of the man’s nose and wondered what Thor had done to him but didn’t even think to ask. He probably didn’t want to know.  Thor let out a sigh and moved across the room to stand over Tony where he was still sprawled out on the floor. Now that he was closer, Tony could see that there was a cut across the Lion’s cheek and a long bruise around his neck, like someone had tried to asphyxiate him. Tony shook his head and grinned tiredly up at him. “So I’m here to rescue you. You’re welcome.”

Thor smirked wryly. “I suppose I owe you thanks then. It is only right, I suppose, as your arrival provided me with a much needed distraction. Though there were only two of them remaining, they were tiring me out and I had feared that they might catch me off guard.” He looked down at Tony for a moment longer before reaching a hand out. “Do you need assistance?”

“No, I’m not an old man…” But he was getting there. Tony bit back a moan as he refused Thor’s hand and instead pushed himself up onto his feet. It took a second longer than it should have but he got there. “Now…” Straightening up, Tony wiped at a bit of blood that had seeped out onto his shirt from the cut left by the bullet grazed him. “All we have to do is make it back to the main entrance, which is on the opposite side of the building, without getting anymore bullets in us. Easy.”

“It need not be overly difficult,” Thor argued back. “I had cleared the other rooms as I pushed my way through and forced the remaining combatants into here. It is true they nearly overwhelmed me but there are benefits of working as part of a group!”

Tony smirked. “So you didn’t hear about that whole tunnel thing?”

Thor tilted his head to the side. “I believed you, Natasha, and Clint had dealt with that. Is that not what kept you from assisting me sooner?”

“That was a number of different things.” Dealing with Hammer, taking a moment with Steve…Yeah, he probably could have gotten there sooner but Thor was alive so that’s all that mattered. “But I have no idea how far those tunnels go or who—or what—is down there. Hammer seemed to think that we haven’t even seen the half of it yet.”

A serious, hard glint settled in Thor’s eyes and his lips drew into a thin line. “Then we had best follow Steve’s advice and regroup at the main entrance.”

“Which takes us back to the problem of how we’re going to get there.”

“I can only see one answer to your problem.”

Tony was pretty sure he knew which answer Thor was referring to. “We just run out there and deal with whatever we find?”

“Precisely. Do you disagree?”

“Mn, nope. Let’s do it.” Tony didn’t really see another way around it. He had already taken a look at the security system and knew that there essentially weren’t any cameras inside the building and there definitely hadn’t been any in the tunnels. Tony only had the equipment he was carrying with him and that didn’t include any thermo-vision binoculars or other gadgets. There was no way Thor had any on him. Tony had a small case of tools but there was nothing for him to hack into.

So they went with Thor’s plan.

Tony’s eyesight was slightly better than Thor’s in the low light levels so he led the way. He had said that they would “run” through but he was a bit more cautious than that as they padded through the now eerily empty factory floor. For once Thor’s footsteps were nearly silent, as were Tony’s, the two acting like the Cat’s they both were.  Tony was trying to look everywhere at once and stretched out his senses to try and check the spaces he couldn’t see.

They made it to the main factory floor, the one where Steve had gotten injured, before Tony heard the slightest hint of a sound. At first he thought it was just loose debris and brick fragments still falling loose from the wall that had collapsed on Steve but after a moment of silence he realized that those noises may have been part of what he was listening to but that wasn’t all. There was a rhythmic undertone to it. One that didn’t sound like falling bricks.

 

Stopping behind one of the old pieces of steel machinery, Tony help up his hand and whispered as quietly as he could, “Shh…You hear that?”

Thor narrowed his eyes and moved to stand closer to him. Tony could tell that he was listening and after a moment understanding lit his eyes and he nodded. “There are multiple men approaching, and they are carrying something heavy. But where did they come from? This direction leads only to the front entrance.”

“Yeah, the tunnels are between there and here.”  Which was exactly what Tony had been worried about. He thought about getting Steve on the line but what good would that do? That would just make his mate come out to help him and he was in no shape to do that. He and Thor could make a break for it but it sounded like whoever was coming at them was nearly on the factory floor. They wouldn’t be able to get around them without getting caught in whatever mess the soldiers were planning. “Okay. Okay, we’re going to have to face them head on but we’ll wait for them to show their hand first. But they give us the chance we’re going to sneak around them and get back to Steve.”

Thor tilted his head, probably not understanding one of the idioms Tony had just used but he seemed to have gotten the gist. “We are running then?”

“I prefer the term strategic retreat.”

Thor growled but nodded. They stood together and Tony held his breath as they waited. As they drew closer Tony was able to tell that there were four of him and he wanted to scoff. There were only four of them, what were they thinking? Thor had taken out nearly six men by himself just a few minutes ago.

Tony realized what exactly they were thinking as they stepped into the room and the dull light in the room was just strong enough to glint off of a long, wide-mouth barrel each of them were carrying. He wasn’t able to get a clear look at it but he didn’t need to. He knew what they were because he was there when Hammer had done a big press release last August to reveal the damn things. He had thought it was a stupid idea then but now that he was facing it down he had to admit that it had some intimidation behind it. It was essentially a hand-held missile launcher complete with heat-seeking ammunition and smart technology options. It was just about impossible to get close enough to take the gun away. Even if they were able to, the guns were developed to send out an electric pulse to stun the person who had taken the gun away from its original owner through a biorhythm scanner in the gun itself unless the owner properly deactivated it. They were entirely over-designed and not at all feasible to mass-produce for the military or law-enforcement, which is why they hadn’t caught on but apparently Hammer had manufactured at least four of them. That son of a bitch.

Tony tensed as one of the men stepped forward and shouted into the darkness. He doubted the mercenary could see them but it didn’t matter much. Their ammunition would be able to see for them. “I don’t know where the fuck you were trained, but no more of our men are dying because of you! Step out and take what’s coming to you!”

Time seemed to freeze as Tony considered his options. This didn’t look good for them. There was no way that either he or Thor would be able to survive the volley and he wouldn’t be fast enough to avoid all of the slugs in his human form. A Cat might be able to do it though. That being said, there was no way to cover up or hide his shifting from the men but given the choice between shifting and dying Tony knew which one he was going to pick. He just hoped that his heart was healed enough for this.

One quick glance at Thor was all it took for Tony to know that he had come to the same conclusion. The Lion took one step away and seemly shifted into his Lion form and, after drawing in one last deep breath, Tony followed suit. He felt his heart give one, then two frightening stutters but then he finishing the transformation and the strain was taken off of his heart as Tony’s body settled into its Cat form. He had an uncomfortable feeling that he had come dangerously close to another heart attack but shook it off, not having the time to deal with that. There were other, more immediate life-threatening issues to focus on.

O~O

Steve paced in front of Hammer and Bruce as his Beta finished sending his emergency signal out. He didn’t know if it would even work but until then they would have to hold down the fort and come up with a plan “C”. He couldn’t risk the safety of everyone in his Pack on the chance that someone within SHIELD had received his first signal and was now within close enough range to get the second. The plan Tony had come up with was the only one that made sense to Steve right now. He hadn’t seen any vehicles around the grounds when they had entered the facility and had a sinking sensation that they had rigged up some form of underground garage. They seemed to rely heavily on the tunnels; it would make sense that they were store their transportation down there too if they were able.

Speaking of Tony, where was he? There was no reason going to get Thor was taking so long. Unless something had gone wrong.

“I think I should go after Tony.”

Bruce shook his head without even looking up from his screen. “I would advise against it. If anyone goes out, it should be me. But Tony just went out a few minutes ago. We’ll give him and Thor a little bit longer before we start to worry.”

Steve knew that Bruce was right, that he was just being oversensitive because this was _Tony_ and he was already on edge. But that didn’t make the feeling any easier to sit with.

He kept pacing and Bruce did glance up this time and had barely gotten his mouth open to talk—probably to tell Steve to sit back down before he fell down—but was cut off not by a ‘boom’ like before but definitely some sort of high-powered weapon firing off. It was louder this time, like it had come from inside the building, and it made both Bruce and Hammer scramble up onto their feet.

Steve looked back and saw the blood ran from Hammer’s face. “Oh shit.” The man took a step back to put Steve and Bruce between him and the door to the rest of the factory. “I know what that was.”

“What was it?”

“Well, I called it the Homewrecker.”

O~O

As soon as Tony and Thor had shifted the mercenaries fired off their first round. Tony turned to the left while Thor bounded off to the right so that they could try and flank the men and Tony narrowly able to avoid being hit by any of the blasts as the ammunition exploded against a wall where he had been running just a second before. The wall shuddered and for a moment Tony thought it was going to come down too and scrambled to get away from the brick edifice, his dark tail whipping out behind him as he dove for cover.

He didn’t have much time to think of anything else besides continuing to move when one of the soldiers launched a different-sounding munition from their gun. It sounded weird, more like a deep _thud_ than a regular round being fired, and a heartbeat later Tony knew why as the projectile hit the ground in the center of the large room. It hadn’t landed anywhere near either Tony or Thor but as soon as it made impact with the ground there was a hollow-sounding explosion and a cloud of grey and black smoke immediately started to billow out of it and filling the air.

The room had been dark before but thanks to the smoke bomb even Tony with his advanced vision couldn’t see more than two feet in front of his nose. It was a major blow because the mercenaries didn’t need to see to kill them. Meanwhile, Tony was suddenly completely dependent on his sense of smell and sound and he hated it. The only thing he was able to see were quick flashes of shadow and the clouds of dust and smoke still rolling through the air in front of him. He was just glad he was able to sense the walls as he drew close to them because otherwise he was sure he’d be banging his head on everything.

With all the changing shadows, it felt like they were everywhere at once. He didn’t know where Thor was and—damn it, this wasn’t good! Hearing another one of the miniature missiles fire off, Tony scrambled to move but wasn’t quite quick enough to avoid the blast. A yowl burst from his mouth as the room momentarily lit up with a blinding light that threw him into the air, the room falling back into darkness by the time he slammed back into the ground.

He rolled over once due to the momentum from the impact then lingered on the ground for a second to make sure nothing was broken. Once running down a mental checklist and coming to the conclusion that nothing was broken, Tony shakily forced himself back up onto his four paws and shook himself off. He couldn’t afford to stay in the same place for long. He scented the air for Thor but all he got was smoke, metal, and oil. Shoving down his panic, Tony desperately thought of a plan. He had no idea where Thor was or if he had even made it through that last barrage.

The mercenaries were still firing on him and Tony had been running the whole time, dodging between the large machines built into the factory floor to try and get the ammunition to hit the steel mechanics instead of him. He knew there was no way he was going to survive at this rate so Tony skidded towards the wall, searching out a door that would get him out. He was entirely turned around at this point and had no idea if he was even near an entrance—he wouldn’t have even known up from down if gravity hadn’t been around—but he knew he had to try. There was at least one other door in the room besides the one the soldiers were blocking and he had to find it.

It took Tony what felt like a solid half an hour but was probably more like five minutes but his strategy of running in the opposite direction of the missile fire finally worked. As soon as he ducked through the open doorway he knew it wasn’t the one he and Thor had just come through but right then it didn’t matter to him. Feeling his heartbeat speed up, Tony forced himself to shift back into his human form as soon as he thought he was temporarily out of the line of fire of even the smart rounds they were firing off.

He shivered as the cold air hit his skin and he suddenly felt very exposed in his human form, tired, nervous, and naked. Reaching up, he shakily felt for his earpiece. “Steve…Steve, I could really use some back-up…”

“ _Where are you? Thor just got back and said you were supposed to be following him! What happened?_ ” Steve sounded worried. Because he was a highly intelligent person. He knew that Tony was in trouble. But at least Thor had been able to get through. Tony would have been upset but that was what he told the Lion to do and was what he was supposed to have done too. He just hadn’t been able to.

 “Main factory floor. That’s as much detail as I got for you right now. I got a little turned around. Fuck. Steve, I don’t think we’re getting out of here…” Once they had finished him off they were probably going to make their way towards the front and none of them were in any shape to take those guns on. Even if Bruce shifted and did manage to take them out, they were still evidentially surrounded. He had no idea where Natasha and Clint were or if they were still alive—neither of them had checked in since Natasha’s distress call had come through—and even Thor was starting to get worn down. They were screwed. They never should have come out here. Tony should have just let things lie and let Hammer get whatever was coming to him but now the whole Pack was going to die because he couldn’t let things go. Peter was going to be an orphan because Tony couldn’t let things go.

“ _Don’t talk like that. Just, stay where you are, I’m going to come get you._ ”

“What? No, that’s a stupid idea. That’s a very stupid idea, Steve. We’d both be lost then.” And as defenseless as fish in a barrel.

“ _I’m not going to leave you out there, Tony!”_

“I’m going to make it back to where you are. Don’t come after me, Steve!” The first part wasn’t something Tony could promise but he did intend to try. He wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of just waiting around here to die on his own either. But the last thing he wanted was for Steve to rush in to the fray to try and save him. Tony shook his head at the thought. He just needed to think of a way through! He just needed a plan!

Growling in fear and frustration, Tony dug his nails into his palms and was about to just run back out into the main room when his thoughts were disrupted as blaring white lights pierced through the grime on the exterior windows above him. It took him half a second to realize how lights could reach that far up but when he did all of the uncertainty rushed out of him. He heard the sound of a loud engine in the next moment and a broad smile spread across his face.  “Oh, there we go! Steve, you’re a fucking miracle worker, big dog.”

The bright light hovered where they were for a moment then roared down the length of the building and a second later one of the best sounds Tony had ever heard echoed out through his earpiece: it was Natasha and she had never had better news. “ _Steve, Tony, SHIELD is here! The soldiers out here are scattering, probably to whatever holes they came out of._ ” 

Tony was still smiling as he straightened and reached back to grab at the frame of the doorway he had clawed his way through. “What the hell is SHIELD doing here? I thought they weren’t coming.”

O~O

Steve grinned as he heard the smile in Tony’s voice. “I sent them a message. I guess they decided to answer.”

He watched as a white light streamed into the room then ran over to the main door and threw it open. Steve felt Bruce, Thor, and Hammer crowd behind him and the four of them watched as a large black jet with the SHIELD logo emblazoned on its belly landed right in the open space in front of the factory, its headlight lighting up the building like the noon-day sun. The rotating turbine system kicked up a small storm of dust and bits of concrete and as Steve blocked his eyes he almost missed it as the back cargo bay door swung down and none other than Agent Phil Coulson himself stepped out. He could have collapsed from the amount of relief he was feeling but managed to keep his feet.

Phil walked down the ramp and seemed to let out a large sigh as his eyes met Steve’s but there was a smile on his face too.  “Need a lift?”

“As it happens…yeah. We could also use some mission support.” As Steve spoke, a figure emerged from behind Phil and Steve’s eyes widened then narrowed as he managed to place who it was. It had taken him a second because this seemed so out of context. It was Erik Lensherr, the alpha Wolf who had been tangled up in Hydra’s experimentation and who, along with his mate, had adopted most of the other children who had been experimented on as well. His eyes bounced back to Phil and he raised his brow. “What’s he doing here?”

Phil glanced back at Erik who was dressed in tactical gear and clearly there to fight. “I thought we might need a little extra muscle.”

“So you called him?”

“He called us.”

Erik chose then to interrupt and walked down the ramp to stand next to Phil. “I had heard about Stark’s troubles with the bombing and shooting on the news but when rumors reached me that his actions had put your son in danger I knew it was time for me to act. Peter Parker has been through enough in his life and should never have been treated as a bargaining chip by _humans_.” An indignant grunt burst from Steve at the implication that he or Tony willingly allowed that to happen or that Tony had an active role in causing Peter to be kidnapped but Erik continued to speak. “I contacted Assistant Director Carter who transferred my concerns to Agent’s Coulson. By that time the boy had been recovered but I insisted that I be involved so the whole matter could be put to rest before any more harm came to him.”

Steve growled at the other alpha Wolf’s voice but Phil quickly stepped between them. “He’ll be able to help, Steve. That’s why I brought him along. Now let’s get this cleaned up so we can get on our way.”  

“Right.” If Phil thought this was a good idea, Steve wasn’t going to let his dislike of the other man’s attitude keep him from offering aid. Stepping forward out of the doorway, secure in the idea that he wouldn’t be shot down as soon as he did so after Natasha’s warning that the mercenaries in the woods were retreating, Steve grabbed Hammer and dragged him out after him. “You should take him before something unfortunate happens.”

Phil’s smile returned in grim amusement and he walked out to meet Steve halfway. Hammer let out a short protest but Phil cut him off as he reached around Hammer and grabbed onto the handcuffs that were still attached around his wrist. “Justin Hammer, I am temporarily placing you into SHIELD custody to be transferred to the FBI’s care as soon as we get back to the city. They’ve been looking forward to having a word with you about your weapons deals with possible enemies of the state, as well as the contracted murder of local businessmen.”

“I’m sure the accommodations will be first-class.” And Steve hoped that he next time he had saw him was in court.

He watched as Phil escorted Hammer back into the jet then turned his attention towards Erik and his expression immediately sobered. “If you are really here to help we need to move, now. Two of my pack members are out in the trees and Tony is further into the building under heavy fire. I believe the two pack members in the woods will be able to make it back on their own,” at least, Steve did now that he had heard from Natasha, “but I need your help to go after Tony.”

Erik gave him a condescending look but nodded. “I _am_ here to help. Lead the way.”

“Okay.” Turning back around to face Bruce and Thor, Steve nodded at each of them. Now that Hammer wasn’t around, he switched back to using their proper names.  “Bruce, you use the security equipment to scan the woods for Clint and Natasha. Hopefully they’re on their way back, but if you see any more mercenaries out there, I need for you, Clint, and Natasha to take care of them.” He wasn’t going to have anyone trying to sabotage this escape plan. “Thor, you’re going back in with me and Erik.” Thor had been starring uncertainly at Erik, probably not liking him in the same way that Tony instantly had. But he too knew enough not to reject the plan simply because Erik rubbed him the wrong way.

“Very well. Let us retrieve Tony and then leave this place.”

“That’s the plan.”

 O~O

The mercenaries who had Tony cornered had fallen silent for a moment after seeing the jet pass by but now Tony could hear them walking slowly across the factory floor, searching for him. “I don’t know who the hell you called in, but they won’t make it in time to save you, you shifting freak! I know we nicked you, so crawl out here and let us finish the job!”

Rolling his eyes, Tony tried to still the tremors in his tired muscles. They hadn’t said much that would actually make him want to come out of hiding. And he knew that they had a point. Even if SHIELD had arrived, there was still time for one of these four guys to find him. When the lights from the jet had shone in through the windows and smoke, Tony had been able to see for the first time that the room he was in wasn’t very large. More like a walk-in storage room. If one of them launched a missile into the room he’d have no way to escape the blast and it would definitely kill him.

“Dammit, I hear someone coming. Go secure the door!”

Tony realized that they were talking to each other and perked up.

“I don’t see anyone…Wait…I think…Shit, three shifters coming in fast!”

“Take them out! You, follow me! We’re hunting this other son of a bitch down!”

Another volley of high-powered ammunition split the air but this time it wasn’t directed at him and Tony took this as a chance to shift back, despite his unsteady heart palpitations, and slide around the corner back onto the main factory floor. The smoke was finally beginning to disperse and he could see the forms of the four men. Two of them were facing the door that led back out towards the main entrance, firing wildly into the hallway, and two of them were within one hundred feet of where Tony was. Having black fur in a dark room had its advantages though and he crept out. Now that they were in the middle of the room there was a chance he might be able to sneak up from behind them and take them out. Before he could though, a loud roar echoed out over the sound of gunfire and Thor rushed out of the hallway, miraculously intact, and tackled one of the men firing on him to the ground. The gun never left the soldiers hand so Thor didn’t get a shock and let his teeth and claws dig into the man’s skin.

The attack and the screams of their comrade caused the other three mercenaries to spin around and look which was just the chance Tony was waiting for. And was the chance others were apparently waiting for too. As Tony leapt at the man closest to him he saw a gold and dark brown blur out of the corner of his eye. He immediately recognized the gold color but he didn’t like that he couldn’t place the other. Soon Tony didn’t care as he landed on one of the mercenaries with an angry cry and tore into the man’s body armor. His buddy stumbled back and turned his weapon on both Tony and the soldier Tony was attacking but before he pulled the trigger a gold Wolf was on top of him.

Tony’s claws finally pierced through the armor of the man he was attacking and he focused on tearing through the exposed patch of skin. The man had been flailing the whole time but wasn’t able to dislodge him and Tony bit down and tasted blood. The mercenary screamed then had enough adrenaline and fear running through him that he was actually able to throw Tony for a minute. But instead of turning around and taking aim, the soldier took off and ran from the room with blood spilling from his side.

Tony let him go. He didn’t have the energy to hunt him down—barely had he energy to stand—and he doubted that the soldier could be coming back for them. Tony instead took a moment to try and catch his breath but then he heard a loud yelp. The man Steve had been attacking hadn’t been able to get a good shot at Steve when the Wolf was so close so he had instead unstrapped his weapon and thrown it at him. As soon as the gun had hit Steve it had done exactly what it was designed to do and let out an electric pulse strong enough to knock the alpha Shifter to the ground. Then Tony saw a silver glint and watched as the man pulled a long knife from his belt. The dark brown Wolf who had come in with Steve had seen it too but instead of running over, he turned away and ran after the man Tony had let escape.

Cursing in his head, Tony used every last bit of strength he had left in his body and charged forward, literally ramming into the mercenary just as he was about to plunge the knife into Steve’s side. The soldier swore and swung around wildly as he was knocked to the ground and the blade caught along Tony’s rib cage, slicing a long cut into Tony’s skin. Yowling in pain, Tony returned the favor but with more force behind his blows and pretty soon the mercenary stopped moving altogether.

Once he was sure the man was down for the count, Tony forced himself back up onto all four feet and limped over to where Steve was struggling to get himself upright. Tony quickly shifted back into his human form and Steve did the same. “Hey, hey, take it easy, big dog. You alright?”

Steve grimaced and let Tony pull him up into a seated position. “Ugh…Yeah…”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Steve sent him a shaky smile but before he could come up with a decent response they heard footsteps coming into the room and Tony looked up to see a face he surprisingly recognized. Resentment welled up hot in his chest as Erik Lensherr walked back into the room and he realized who the other Wolf had been. “Lensherr!”

Lensherr ‘s eyes widened a bit in surprise as his eyes connected with Tony’s. It took a moment for Tony to think of what he would have been surprised about before he remembered that the other Wolf didn’t know that he was a Shifter. Lensherr’s eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at Tony before he let out a soft hum. “Interesting.”

Tony snarled at him and pulled Steve up a bit more. “Look, if you have a problem with me let’s just take care of it right now.” Bloodlust was still swarming through his veins and if Erik wanted to fight Tony was only too happy to take the Wolf on.

“I don’t have any interest in fighting you, Stark.”

“If you tell _anyone_ —!”

“You’re secret is safe enough with me.”

“It better be! And what the hell was that?! You just let Steve open for attack!”

Lensherr had the balls to roll his eyes and walked over to stand over them, looking entirely unscathed with a spatter of human blood across his chest. “I expected him to fend for himself, he should be perfectly capable of it.”

Steve waved a hand to try and quiet Tony but Tony wasn’t having any of it. “He was injured, you dick!”

“If he’s healthy enough to walk, I’ll assume he’s healthy enough to fight. If that’s not true, he should speak up.”

“Hey! Enough!” Steve pushed against his hand with a soft growl and Tony got the message and helped him to his feet. “Tony, I’m fine. Let’s focus on getting out of here.”

Steve was definitely not fine, none of them were, but leaving was all Tony wanted to do so he didn’t disagree. Thor finally made his way over to them and Tony let him take some of Steve’s weight and together they made their way back through the factory towards the main entrance with Erik leading the way. Tony hadn’t been one hundred percent sure that they were going to make it in one piece of somehow they did and when he saw Agent Coulson standing outside in front of his jet Tony didn’t think the man had ever looked more amazing.

According to Coulson, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce had just returned themselves after taking a minute to calm Bruce back down to his human form. Apparently he had taken Steve’s orders to heart and when he had seen a few mercenaries sneaking around on the perimeter had taken it upon himself to deal with them. Or at least his Wolf had.

Tony grinned at the SHIELD agent after he had helped him get Steve on board and get him settled in one of the seats. “You couldn’t have brought more help with you?”

Coulson tilted his head as they slowly walked towards the jet’s cockpit. “This wasn’t exactly an authorized SHIELD mission.”

“So, what, you just flew out on your own? How’d you get this jet?” Sure, Tony had access to this sort of transportation but he knew most regular people didn’t.

“The Assistant Director happened to leave the newest access code to the SHEILD hanger at our airport out on her desk in plain sight and I have a good memory.”

Tony scoffed. For not being an authorized SHIELD mission it sure sounded like there was a lot of authoritative SHIELD agents involved in it. “Do you even know how to fly it?” He knew Coulson had a surprising array of hidden talents but this jet had an advanced operation system and given it’s martial capabilities there was a very high probability of doing a lot of damage if you pressed the wrong button.

Coulson just gave a little shrug. “I had to make a call but she was able to walk me through it. I was hoping that you might be able to take us back.”

“What, you think _I_ know how to fly this thing?”

“You did help us design it three years ago. I thought you might know how to work the controls.”

“Well you’re not wrong.” Tony didn’t know if he was up for flying back the whole way since he felt like he was about to pass out on his feet but he could at least get the jet off the ground and program the auto-pilot to take them to a safe location.

Tony practically collapsed down into the pilot’s seat and Coulson sat down beside him as co-pilot. As he began to get the jet revved up, he jerked his head back towards where Erik was. He had taken a seat behind Steve, who already looked half asleep, and beside Clint who was giving him confused side-glances out of the corner of his eye when he thought Erik wasn’t looking. “What’s with Lensherr’s suit?” Erik had redressed and was wearing an advanced tactical suit, clearly SHIELD issue by the eagle logo on one of the arms. But on the other arm was a patch with an “X” on it. Bruce had said it was the same one he had been wearing when the alpha Wolf arrived.

Coulson looked back too. “SHIELD is issuing new gear for our teams. Yours should be arriving to your team shortly. We would have gotten them to you sooner but you’ve been a little…difficult lately.”

Snorting, Tony delicately pulled back on the controls that would turn the turbine engines so that they could lift-off straight up into the air like a helicopter. It was one of his better ideas, which was saying a lot. “What’s the ‘X’ for?”

“It’s to designate to our field agents what team he’s a part of.” Tony gave him a look and Coulson continued to explain. “Because of the high rate of success we’ve experienced with your team, SHIELD has decided to take on a second Shifter response team and therefore found it necessary to start different designations.”

“So assuming SHIELD is going to take us back, we’re what? Team Rogers? Or, sorry, Team Captain? Because I’m going to tell you right now, that sounds ridiculous.”

“It does. And you’re not. You’re Team ‘A’.”

“Original. And so they’re…what? Team ‘X’?”

“Exactly.”

“Please don’t tell me you dredged up a team ‘B’ through ‘W’ too.”  It was bad enough to imagine that they might have to have increased contact with that Lensherr asshole through missions. Tony didn’t even want to guess at what dealing with twenty-two other team leaders would be like.

A smile slipped back onto Coulson’s lips. “No. The ‘X’ stands for ‘Xavier’ since, despite being an omega, he was the leading proponent of the idea. The older children he’s been raising are slated to join them as soon as they pass through basic SHIELD training.”

“So why are we Team ‘A’?” None of their names started with A.

“Because you were the first.”

“Works for me. By the way though, we’re going to need to re-negotiate the terms under which we work for SHIELD.”

Coulson didn’t seem at all surprised by the request. “Understood. I thought you might. I’ll set up a meeting with Director Fury.”

O~O~O~O

The ride home was blissfully uneventful with nearly all of them passing out in their seats within the first twenty minutes. Tony stayed awake that long just to make sure all the systems were running properly before taking the seat next to Steve and quickly drowsing off. Phil and the jet’s auto-pilot managed to get them to the private airport Tony stored his own planes at safely and as soon as they touched ground there were three SHIELD vehicles and five cop cars on site to take Hammer away. When he saw them, Tony had a bad feeling that they were there for the Pack too but the SHIELD agents ignored them as if they weren’t even there and the police clearly didn’t have any interest in who they were or what they were doing there. Erik quickly disappeared without so much as a good-bye but neither Tony nor Steve were too broken up about that.

Happy was also there with a limo of all things. When Tony had raised a brow, his driver had just shrugged and said it was the first car he had been able to find in the garage with enough space for everyone. Natasha had located a bottle of scotch Tony didn’t remember leaving in there and she, Tony, Clint, and Thor each took a healthy serving of it after making a silent toast to getting Hammer, uncovering a terrorist nest, and surviving the night.

When they got back home Peter was waiting for them in the foyer and immediately attached himself to Tony and Steve’s sides. As everyone else wandered upstairs to get cleaned up, the Steve guided the three of them into the media room. Steve slowly lowered himself down onto the couch beside Peter and Tony flopped down on top of him. He really shouldn’t be lying all over the couch like this. It was white and all the blood and sweat and grime was really going to stain. He would probably need to get it reupholstered.  Oh well.

Peter, who had been silent up till then, spoke up. “Did you get him?”

Tony grunted out an affirmative noise then clarified. “Pop made us turn him over to the authorities. But based on the charges the police listed out, he’s getting a minimum of fifty years in prison.”

“What if he gets lawyers?”

“I’ll get better ones.”    

That seemed to settle the matter and for a long moment no one said anything else, all three of them just appreciating the others’ company. Steve was the first one to break the stillness and his question was so _normal_ it surprised a burst of laughter from Tony. “So, how was school?”

Peter sighed then grinned up at Steve. “Good.”

“Yeah? Is everything going alright with your classmates?”

“Yeah. Everything seems a lot easier after you get kidnapped.”

Snorting, Tony shook his head. “Huh…That’s one way to look at it…” And it showed how strong of a kid Peter was. But there was no way that he should have even been able to make the comparison. Rolling over a bit, Tony looked up at Steve. “I want back in.”

“What?”

“On the missions. I want back in. I want to be Ironman again.” He missed the stupid nickname. But more than that, he had realized that if his family was going to be in danger anyway, he wanted to be a more integral part in keeping them safe. And not just his family, but keeping the world safe from people like Hammer and the mercenaries who had nearly gotten the better of them. Tony would need to get retrained, sure, but he knew that he could make a real difference if he put more of his time and energy into the Pack’s activities.

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. Pete doesn’t need me here all the time anymore, do you?”

Peter shook his head. “Not unless someone tries to kidnap me again.”

Steve closed his eyes. “That’s not funny.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

Tony sighed and shook his head. He wasn’t going to let that happen again anytime soon. “Well, with Hammer behind bars those chances are slim now. Besides, you need me out there with you, Captain.”

Tilting his head to the side, Peter looked from Tony to Steve as Steve smirked. “What’s ‘Ironman’ and ‘Captain’?”

Right. They had kept Peter so separated from the Pack’s missions that he didn’t even know what they were talking about now. “Those are the codenames SHIELD gave us for our missions.”

“Oh…Hey, could I come with you next time?”

The question came so out of left field that Tony couldn’t even process it and he just blinked back at his son. “Huh?”

“Can I come out with you on your mission?”

“No way.”

Peter opened his mouth to defend himself but Steve was quick to back Tony up. “Not yet. You’re still too young.”

“Someday?”

“No.”

Steve sighed at both of them. “We’ll see. But for now you should focus on your studies.”

Peter wanted to protest but he knew when a topic of conversation was closed and didn’t argue. Neither of his parents looked like they were in the mood for it and the last thing he wanted to do was get in a fight right after they got home. “Okay.” 

Another bout of silence fell between them and Peter perked back up as a thought struck him. “Hey Dad, Pop?” When he didn’t get an immediate response, he sat up and realized that they had both fallen asleep beside him.  “Hmm…”

O~O

Bruce had been listening for Steve, Tony, and Peter to come upstairs but when half an hour had passed by and he didn’t hear anything, he tiredly made his way back downstairs to investigate. He found all three of them sprawled out on the couch in the media room with Tony’s head resting on Steve’s chest and Peter writing something on a stack of papers in front of him. As soon as he heard Bruce coming in, Peter put his pen down and smiled up at Bruce as the older beta let out a soft laugh. “Ha, it looks like they tired themselves out.”

“Yeah.”

“I think it’s time for everyone to get to bed. Why don’t you go upstairs and get changed while I get your Dads up?”

Usually Peter would whine a bit about being told to go to sleep but even he seemed happy for an excuse to get some rest. The last few days couldn’t have been easy for him and Bruce was sure that he was almost as tired as the rest of them were. “Sure.”

Walking around the couch, Bruce was about to lean over to shake Steve and Tony awake when Peter’s homework caught his attention. It was a doodle on the bottom half of a graded worksheet of three figures. Pete wasn’t the best artist but even Bruce knew that it was Steve, Tony, and Peter dressed in the sort of gear they wore out on missions. Over Steve he wrote “Captain”, over Tony “Ironman”, and over the little drawing of himself there was a cloud of eraser marks and the word “Spiderman”.

Bruce’s eyebrows lifted in surprise and a small smile flickered onto his face. “’Spiderman’, huh?”

His voice woken Tony a bit and the Cat’s brow pinched before he let out a soft grunt. “Hmm…What’s a Spiderman?”

“Nothing. Yet anyway.” Reaching down, Bruce covered up the drawing under some other papers. “Now, let’s get you and Steve upstairs. I’m sure we’ll have a full day tomorrow.”

 


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness! The epilogue is finally here, heralding the end of an era. This Shifter AU has been so much fun and I really appreciate all of those who stuck with me throughout everything and reviewed along the way! In particular, those who commented for the last chapter!! Just as a reminder, I’m still running my “Ask Avengers Shifters” Tumblr page (accessible via my Author’s Page on this site) and will continue to do so until all of you tire of it (which I assume will happen eventually, a fact that makes me sad but that I must realistically acknowledge).
> 
> PS: There’s some M rated stuff right at the start of this chapter. If that makes you squeamish, I’d skip down to about the middle of it.

Four Years Later…

O

.

O

“I have to admit it’s good to be back.” Steve laughed as Tony leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees to try and stretch out his back muscles. They had just made it back home after handling a small situation in New Hampshire. Steve could have assigned anyone to run the mission with him, but he had picked Tony since the Panther had a few free days on his work calendar. That and they actually worked surprisingly well together as long as they resisted the urge to one-up each other, which wasn’t always easy. But it was worth it.

Walking up to stand beside him, Steve gently ran his hand up and down the Cat’s back even as he grinned, “You can’t be tired already. This is only your first mission this month!”

“Leave me alone, I don’t run ten miles a day unlike some people.” Truth be told Tony had been feeling off for a few days and it wasn’t because of the mission. Growling under his breath, he bumped Steve’s hand off and straightened up. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

Steve smiled again but lifted his hands up and stepped to the side to allow Tony to pass. He did so and made his way through the house and up the stairs. It was late, past midnight, and the rest of the house was quiet. It helped that there weren’t many people left in the house. Natasha was supposed to be in, and so was Bruce, though he was scheduled to join Clint out in the field on a surveillance mission first thing in the morning. And Peter, of course. Peter was home. Despite his bad mood, Tony stopped by his son’s room on his way to his own and scented the door, relaxing a bit as he sensed Peter resting peacefully on the other side. Everything was as it should be, except for the weird feeling he couldn’t shake.

Growling to himself, Tony shuffled back down to the end of the hall to his room and closed the door as soon as he was inside. The first thing he did was kick off his shoes then peel off his tactical suit. SHIELD had finally provided their Pack with their own team tactical suits about a month after the mercenary incident. They had been eerily perfectly tailored for each of them with a SHIELD logo patch on one shoulder and a stylized “A” on the other, as promised. Tony had taken it upon himself to add an “ST” and “RK” before and after the “A” with a silver permanent marker on his suit. Steve hadn’t approved but by the time he saw it, the deed had already been done and he didn’t want to bother Coulson with sending them a new one.

But today the only thing Tony cared about now was getting the damn thing off. Stumbling around as it caught around his feet, Tony swore and rolled onto the bed to finish tugging it off of feet then threw it across the room. Damn skin-tight clothing. It didn’t help that he had been sweating up a storm the last hour or so which was ridiculous because that was when they had been traveling back home and he hadn’t been doing anything that active and, for fuck’s sake, he felt like he was coming out of his skin!

Snarling, he pulled off the rest of his clothes and stumbled off of his bed and into the bathroom. He had been planning on taking a bath to get himself to relax now but he didn’t think he’d be able to stay still for that long. So he by-passed the jacuzzi tub and went straight for the shower stall. He felt he should probably take a cold shower but he turned it on hot instead and climbed in. The steam almost choked him and he swore again and cranked the temperature back down to cold. But even as the water pelted his skin, he was still sweating and it was only then that he realized exactly what was going on. “Ah…fuck…JARVIS? You on?”

The AI responded instantly. “ _Yes, sir_.”

“Alright…we’re going to have to talk about boundaries but right now I need you to get Steve up here for me…”

“ _Should I pass along a message, sir?”_

“Ugh…Jesus…Yeah. Tell him I need him upstairs to help me reach something on the top shelf in the closet…”     

It seemed like hours before he heard any noise from outside of the shower stall. When he asked JARVIS he said that it had only been three minutes but what the hell did he know? He had his head beneath the spray to try and cool himself down when a voice finally rang out from the bedroom. “Alright, Tony, what is it rea—Tony? Tony, where are you?”

Pulling his head from the water, Tony ran a hand over his face and growled back. “In here! Where you better be in about five seconds!”

“Tony?” He heard Steve pause then hurry towards the bathroom. “What’s wrong?”

 “Ah, fuck--define your version of ‘wrong’?”

He saw Steve’s outline appear in the fogged glass of the shower stall and apparently Steve saw more from him than he was expecting. “Are you…Are you jacking off in the shower?”

By the time he got there Tony had given in and already had his hand wrapped around his arousal. Just the sound of his mate’s voice sent shivers of pleasure coursing through his body and it was already getting too intense for him to just sit with. Panting, he rumbled out a low growl in response. “Yeah, yeah, looks like it. I think I finally realized why I feel like I’ve been feeling particularly horny these last few days.” 

“Tony, are you going into heat?” It was a stupid question but Tony knew why Steve had asked. Ever since Hammer had come after Tony, Tony’s body had all but gone on lock-down for a good half a year until his heat had finally bowled him over like a freight train. Every year since then his hormones had been balancing out and while it made him feel like he was running right again it had made every year a bit difficult to predict. It didn’t help that Thor and Loki weren’t around consistently enough for Steve and Tony to fall into their pattern and Bruce made himself scarce during his own heat before either of their hormones reacted to it.

But Tony was able to hear the smile in Steve’s voice as he spoke and snarled at him through the glass. “How about you stop smirking about it and get in here and let me fuck you.”  

Steve growled at being ordered around but was already slipping out of his own tactical suit. Leaving it pooled up on the bathroom floor, he was in the shower stall with Tony a second later and instantly buried his nose against Tony’s neck. Even with the water coming down on them, Tony knew that he still must be emitting some pretty strong pheromones when Steve shuddered and the movement rolled through his entire body. “Hell, Tony, you smell so good.”  

Tony’s eyes closed and he leaned against Steve as the Wolf’s hands fell to his body. A low rumble rose up in his chest at the feel of Steve’s fingers running down his sides and back. His touch was doing more good than the water had, that was for sure, and Tony nipped at Steve’s shoulder. “Your heat coming too? Fuck, let me feel it, big dog.” They always had hair-trigger heats when it came to each other, ever since the very first one they had shared together. Tony would like to think it was because they had an especially strong bond but from what he heard it was like that with most mated pairs. At the first whiff of their mate going into heat, something triggered in their partner’s mind to kick their own heat into hyper-drive. Steve growled and slammed Tony against the tiled wall, his nose still buried against his throat and his quickly growing erection already rutting up against Tony’s hip.

Tony wasn’t going to let him get away with that though and with a sudden burst of strength flipped them around and pressed Steve into wall so that his back was showing. Steve rumbled a low, disapproving noise in his throat but didn’t fight it and let Tony pulls his hips out so that his ass was pushed out. By now they had an unspoken agreement; they took turns fucking each other during their heat and Steve knew that if he let Tony do this now, he would get his turn later.

The water helped to loosen things up and Tony snatched a bottle of body wash to do the rest. Steve grunted as Tony pressed his first finger in and glanced back with furrowed brows. Tony purred sympathetically—though not quite sympathetic enough to stop—and leaned in to bite at Steve’s shoulder. “Sorry, no lube.”

“Just do it then!”

“Hold on, honey, need to work you open more. We have a long week ahead of us and I can’t have you getting hurt on the first go.” It never ceased to amaze him how much their bodies were not built for this kind of thing. But they were both strong and could take it so it never stopped them. Steve only snorted and Tony chuckled and kissed his shoulder blade as he added another finger.

Prepping him seemed to take forever—it always did—and Steve was the one who broke first. “For God’s sake, Tony, just fuck me!”

Tony growled against Steve’s spine. “Suit yourself.” Drawing his fingers out, he liberally spread another handful of body wash onto his cock. Holding himself steady with one hand, he wrapped his other around Steve’s waist to ground them both as he guided himself to Steve’s entrance. He felt Steve’s abdomen tense under his palm as Tony first breeched him and Tony rumbled comforting sounds against Steve’s skin as he worked his way into his mate. He saw Steve’s jaw tighten and the Wolf reached back to hold his hip while his other disappeared between his body and the tile wall and just imagining he was doing with it made Tony’s stomach clench.

The next five minutes was a wash of pleasure and the sound of wet flesh on flesh. Tony grimaced as he felt his orgasm start to rush up on him already and swore, his voice having dropped to a graveled snarl. “Fuck…Steve. Not gonna last long!” He was going to come embarrassingly fast. But they usually did at the start. Then, during their peak, they could literally go for hours, but there was just no way that was happening. Not when Steve felt so amazing and Tony was already so wound up that all he could do now was ride it out. Moving the hand he had resting on Steve’s waist down, Tony wrapped his fingers around where Steve already had his own fingers wrapped tight around his length. He heard Steve growl and Tony pressed forward and bit down onto Steve’s shoulder almost hard enough to break skin. He was coming a second later and Steve followed soon after.

The water quickly washed away any evidence of their coupling but they had to help each other step out, towel off, then stumbled into the next room and onto their bed. Tony rumbled happily as they finally lay down and he tangled himself up with Steve. Usually the Wolf was the one who initiated any cuddling and Tony just bitched about it but right now it felt like he couldn’t get close enough. Steve didn’t seem to mind and quickly wrapped his arms around Tony and nuzzled against his jaw, licking and kissing up and down Tony’s throat as the Panther spoke. “Now that the edge is off, what do you say to a trip to Hawaii? We haven’t made it there for our heat yet. It’s a long flight but I have a condo there already. And we could fuck on the plane. That’s the benefit of owning your own plane, you know. The Mile High club.”

Steve snorted at the suggestion. “We can go wherever you want. But no sex on the plane. Peter might see.”

Tony blinked then craned his head so that he could stare at his mate who seemed to be horrifically ignorant of the point of their trip. “Peter’s coming with us?”

“Isn’t he?”

“I don’t know, you know I have a hard time thinking about Peter when I’m going into heat. “

“Yeah, you have a hard time with some other things too.”

It took Tony a minute to realize what Steve meant but when he did he huffed out a laugh and buried his face against Steve’s neck. “God, I love your ridiculous innuendos. But I’ve got a better plan.”

Steve’s lips quirked up into a smirk. “Oh you do, do you?”

“Yeah. Let’s take off, just the two of us.”

“But Peter—“

Rolling his eyes, Tony leaned forward and nipped at Steve’s ear. “Peter can take care of himself now. He’s fourteen now—“

“He’s fifteen.”

“I knew that. He’s fifteen now and he can survive a week on his own. This is our last chance to do it. Next year he might present himself and then we’re fucked.” Tony didn’t even want to think about that happening, about Peter reaching sexual maturity and experiencing his first heat. Tony had presented when he was sixteen and at some point during their ten plus years together Steve had admitted that he had been a late bloomer and hadn’t presented until he was nineteen. God knew when it finally happened they’d all be a mess, especially since it would undoubtedly happen right when Tony and Steve were about to go into heat themselves.

“I thought we’re fucked now? And about to be fucked again.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh and he punched Steve in the shoulder. “Alright, stop turning things into innuendos! They’re not sexy, they’re just hilarious.”

Steve grinned back and in that moment he realized that Steve might have been baiting him. “Make me.”

“Oh, I’ll make you alright.” Growling, Tony pounced and Steve laughed as he was tackled to the mattress.

 Another long fuck later found them sprawled out on the bed with Steve sitting propped up against the headboard and Tony lounging with his head in the Wolf’s lap and his legs hanging off the side of the mattress with most of their sheets beneath his feet. Steve had his hand resting on Tony’s chest with his broad palm covering the scar tissue. Momentarily satiated again, Tony was able to feel the drying sweat on his skin and wondered if he should take another shower but decided against it. They’d just be getting dirty again soon.

After a long moment of just sitting silently in each other’s company, Tony tilted his head back and grinned at Steve. “…So what do you think? Without Peter we can fuck everywhere, the bed, the couch, the floor, the beach…” He let his voice trail off, knowing that Steve and his big imagination could take the reins from there.

Sure enough, he actually saw a small glint in the Wolf’s eyes and knew that he was coming around. Finally, he grunted out an acknowledgment and nodded. “…Just for three days.”

Tony made a face. Three days wasn’t even worth the time it would take to fly there. “What? No. You’re missing the point, Steven. We have to go at least seven days.”

Steve frowned, clearly not wanting to be gone that long. Tony could logically get that. If any missions came up both of them would not only be in heat, they’d be out of state and an ocean away. And they hadn’t both left Peter for that length of time before. But Tony didn’t give two shits what logic had to say about it. He’d been wanting to spend their heat in Hawaii for over four years now and this year he was going to get his way. Finally, Steve caved and Tony grinned as his mate let out a sigh. “Five, and we’ll let Peter stay here with the rest of the Pack.”

“Deal.” Tony could live with that. But he would need some compensation for his two lost days in paradise. “Can you move?”

Steve raised a brow in disbelief. “You can’t?”

He could but…“I’d rather not…” It had been Steve’s turn last and while they both gave it their all when they fucked each other, he couldn’t deny that Steve had a height and weight advantage that knocked Tony for a loop when his mate really went for it. “Make me breakfast?” They had gotten back late, or early, depending on your perspective and it was a reasonable demand. “I want an omelet with bacon, sausage, cheese, and peppers and a cup of coffee.”

Steve sighed again but he was still smiling. “I thought I trained you out of this habit.”

That made Tony’s own smile grow. “You can train dogs, Steve, cats do what they want.” Steve scoffed and shoved him before slipping out from underneath him. As he moved off of the bed, Tony reached back and poked his leg. “Oh, hey, you should probably tell Peter that we’ll be taking off today. I was going to have JARVIS do it, but since you’ll be going downstairs anyway you might as well take care of that.”

“Remind me why I put up with you?”

“I guess it must be love.”

O~O

Steve pulled on a shirt as he walked down the stairs and ran his fingers through his hair to try and comb it back into some sort of order. When he stepped into the kitchen though he knew he should have dragged himself out of bed earlier.

Peter was crouched on top of the cabinets and just as Steve walked into the room he shot a web up at the vaulted ceiling, swung across the room, then flipped himself upside-down and lowered himself  to the counter. A second later the toaster sitting on the counter dinged and a browned piece of toast popped out. Peter grinned and snatched up the bread and Steve decided he should probably say something, as impressive as the little display was.

He cleared his throat and Peter started and flailed, causing the thin web he had spun to snap and sending him crashing to the ground. Steve barely managed to keep a smile of his face as Peter floundered a bit more before pushing himself up onto his feet, all of the grace and agility he had just effortlessly utilized gone like a puff of smoke. He might have been worried but Peter was a Wolf—despite what Hydra did to him—and Steve knew it would take more than a four foot drop to really to any sort of damage. “Oh, hey, Pop, I didn’t see you there!”

Shaking his head, Steve walked over, reaching his hand up as he did so to gather up some of the webbing left hanging from the ceiling to pull it down. It wasn’t the first time he did it and Steve knew it wasn’t going to be the last. “You know you’re not supposed to be doing that sort of thing in the kitchen.”

Peter pouted then stuck the piece of toast in his mouth and talked around the slice of bread. “Aww, come on!”

Steve just gave him a look and Peter rolled his eyes but nodded. “Fine.” Pulling the toast out of his mouth, he took a few large bites before he lifted his chin and met Steve’s gaze again. “By the way, why weren’t you and Dad…?” As he was speaking, Steve saw him scent the air and a second later he pulled a face and his nose scrunched up. “Oh. Nevermind.”

Steve frowned and tilted his head apologetically. There would have been no way for Peter to miss the scent of heat that was undoubtedly hanging around him like a cloud. Steve just hoped that the shower had washed away any smells of sex off of him. Peter was more than old enough to figure out what those scents would mean and there were certain things he didn’t want to share with his son. “Yeah. It’s that time of the year. Your Dad and I are leaving and will probably be gone for at least three days. Bruce and Clint are running a mission and will be in and out of the house and Thor and Loki aren’t due back until Thursday. Natasha will be here but she will probably be spending most of her time in the SHIELD offices. They might have some undercover work for her that she needs to prep for. Will you be okay by yourself for that long?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

The way Peter rolled his eyes was so similar to the way Tony did it that Steve was momentarily struck with amazement about how many things could get passed along without any need for genetics. “I’m fifteen, Pop. I think I can manage to keep myself fed and not burn the house down for three nights. And even if I do, JARVIS is here.”

“ _Though I would prefer you not use that as an excuse to start any fires, Master Peter._ ” The AI was clearly listening in and rightfully felt the need to speak up.

Peter shrugged up towards the ceiling. “It was a joke!”

“ _All the same, I would appreciate if you kept that in mind._ ”

Steve smiled appreciatively as he realized that at the very least JARVIS would be keeping an eye on things and moved over to the fridge to start pulling out things for breakfast. Peter watched him work for a moment then decided to stick around and jumped up onto the counter next to where Steve was prepping. Steve thought he was hanging out to get some food but Peter managed to surprise him. Although he would have seen it coming if his heat-fogged mind had been more cognizant.

“So, Pop, while you’re gone is it okay if I got out with Bruce and Clint on their mission?”

Steve glanced over at his son. It was unexpected but not out of the blue. “Now Peter, we’ve talked about this already. At length.”

“Yeah, I remember. But I still think it’s a load of bull. I can do so much now and I’ve been training really well the last few months! I think I’m ready!”

“Ready for what?”

Steve caught Tony’s scent before he even walked through the door. The pheromones Tony was still giving off made Steve want to curl around the Panther and mark him up with his lips and teeth. Taking a deep breath, Steve kept his hands to himself by resting them on the counter and glanced over at Tony as he stepped into the room. His impatience probably started to outweigh his laziness and they naturally sought each other out during their heat. The Cat had managed to pull on a pair of lounge pants and a tank top that only hid some of the bruises and hickeys Steve had left there earlier. He had good timing too; Steve could handle this conversation alone but it would be good for Peter to hear that they were both on the same page about this. “He’s asking if he can go out with Bruce and Clint while we’re away.”

“Oh.” Tony was as unsurprised as Steve had been. “Nope. There, argument settled.”

Peter’s mouth fell open. “What? That’s not fair!”

Tony shrugged dismissively and walked over to stand next to Steve, resting his chin on his shoulder as Steve began to fry up some sausage and bacon. “And that’s my prerogative as a parent. You’re still too young.” And Steve knew that Bruce wouldn’t let Peter anywhere near their operation if he knew Steve and Tony didn’t want him there. Clint might, but that was why they had partnered him with Bruce.

Peter threw his hands up into the air. “How long am I supposed to wait? Until I’m thirty? Come on, Dad, you were already in MIT when you were my age!”

Snorting, Tony turned back towards Peter. “Yeah, but no one tried to attack me there.” Although, when Steve thought about it, from what he knew of Tony’s life his time at college was one of the few times in his adult life that someone wasn’t trying to kill him, as sad as that was. “If you’re planning on getting accepted into a decent university within the next few months we can talk.”

A bolt of internal panic rushed though Steve at the idea of Peter leaving for college but he kept that inside. They had enough to talk about right now. “Speaking of which, above all else school is still in session.”

Peter groaned and leaned back against the cabinets behind him. “Ugh…Who cares? I can skip some classes for a day or two, I’m acing them all!”

Steve frowned and shook his head. “Education is important. You can’t just cut classes whenever you want to. Even if you’re doing well.”

“Especially in high school where you’re legally supposed to show up.” Tony added.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Peter frowned at his Dad. “Don’t tell me you never cut classes.”

Mentally, Steve commended Peter for making a good point even though it in no way made his argument. He and Tony had never had a big discussion about what Tony’s high school life had been like but he was guessing that as smart as he was Tony wasn’t exactly a role-model student.

“Hey, I never said I was leading by example. Do what I say, not what I do.”

Seeing Peter open his mouth to keep pressing the issue, Steve decided that it was time to stop the discussion there. He really wasn’t in the mood but, more than that, this wasn’t something either him or Tony were willing to negotiate on and Peter was going to have to accept that. “Enough. Peter, I’m not going to argue with you about this. You’re not going out with Bruce and Clint and I’ll be letting them know.” He had used what Clint called his ‘alpha voice’, making what he was saying a command rather than a statement.

It never worked on Tony but it still had an effect on Peter and the teen shrunk back a bit into himself before jumping off of the corner and leaving the kitchen with an angry huff. Steve felt bad but this wasn’t something that he could afford to fold on. Tony clapped him on the back but let his hand linger on Steve’s back. “It’s not always easy, is it?”

Steve knew that he was talking about being a parent.” No.” But at the same time… “It’s a little bit easier when I know we’re going to Hawaii though.”

“Tell me about it. Now when’s that omelet going to be done? I’m starving and I’m starting to get horny again.”

O~O

After breakfast and a frantic return to their bedroom to go another round and let off some steam, Tony had JARVIS call the nearby airport to start prepping his jet then called Pepper to let her know he wouldn’t be showing up at the office for the next week. She wasn’t pleased but understood, probably due to the fact that she would never want him near the office anyway when he was in his heat.  Climbing off of the bed, Steve took a moment to stretch so that he wouldn’t limp then redressed. There was something he had to do before they left.

He walked out of their room, leaving Tony to pack—or, more likely, lounge on the bed with his Stark Pad until he came back. Steve made his way down the hallway to Peter’s room. With his senses heightened from his heat he had been able to catch his scent as soon as he stepped out into the hall and knew he was inside. He paused, not knowing what sort of mood his son was in, but knew that he would have to do this either way. So he knocked.  “Hey Pete, can I come in?”

“Hold on!” Steve raised a brow as he heard a semi-frantic shuffling noise seep out from behind Peter’s door. After a second or two the rustling abruptly stopped ad then he heard Peter chirp out another reply. “Okay. You can come in.”

Steve gently pushed open the door and glanced around Peter’s room before stepping inside. Peter was sitting at the desk he had in his room with his laptop open in front of him. Everything seemed normal so Steve stepped in a little further, met Peter’s curious gaze, and decided to cut right to the chase. “I didn’t want to leave with you angry at us.”

Peter sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’m not angry…I get it.”

“Good.” Because even all the emotions that came with a heat wouldn’t be enough to dispel the guilt that he would have felt at leaving Peter on a sour note.

Peter glanced at his computer screen for a moment before looking back up at him, his tone surprisingly thoughtful. “Hey Pop? When you guys go on missions why don’t you, Dad, and the rest of the Pack go after all the stuff going on in the city? There’s a lot of crime going on by both Shifters and humans.” He

At least he wasn’t asking whether he could go out on missions again. This Steve could handle. “If we had more time and more people we would but there’s only so much even we can do at one time. Even with the other teams SHIELD has in operation now. We need to choose our battles and SHIELD helps us to figure out what the most important ones are. Our job is to keep both humans and Shifters safe by dealing with any Shifters who pose threats. Though we wouldn’t be able to stop human criminals even if we found them.”

“Just because they could claim that you tried to ‘attack them’? That’s stupid.”

“Sometimes it is.” Steve didn’t always think it was right but he could understand why the laws were in place. Humans were still frightened of Shifter’s increased strength and speed. Steve hoped that he and Tony could continue making headway in human-Shifter relations and eventually  change some of those laws to protect Shifters as well as humans but things like that took time.

“What if there was somebody who could help try to keep those guys from hurting anyone else?”

“We do have someone like that; they’re called the police.”

“They can’t keep up with everything!”

“They do their best, just like we do. “

Any response Peter was going to give was interrupted by a shout from the hallway. “Steve? Hey, I just got a call, the plane’s ready!” Steve and Peter both looked up as Tony’s voice broke the tension that had been slowly building back up towards another argument. A small smile flickered onto Steve’s face. He wondered if Tony had sensed tempers rising or if he just had amazing timing. The door creaked back open and Tony poked his head inside. He was dressed, thank goodness, but his hair still had a tussled look and a bruise was peeking out from beneath the collar of his shirt. There were certain signs that neither of them would be able to hide on this trip but that was alright. With the private plane, the private vacation home, and the private beach, he wasn’t sure if anyone else would even get the chance to see them. Tony raised a quizzical brow as he saw Steve and Peter standing together. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing that can’t wait until we get back.”

Peter pouted a bit at Steve’s response but it looked like he had momentarily given up wanting to fight about it because he didn’t correct him. Steve was grateful because the last thing he wanted to do was start another argument when he was trying to make things right before they left.  “Alright. Peter, we’re heading out. If you want to use the lab, don’t go near anything flammable without Bruce’s supervision. Natasha is the only acceptable substitute. No arguments.”

“Fine…”

“Great. Now, come on, Steve. We have a plane to catch.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Bending down, Steve pressed a kiss against the top of Peter’s head. The teen squirmed but didn’t pull away. “We’re going, Peter. Call if you need anything, we’ll both keep our phones on and you know how often your Dad’s checking his messages.”

“I think I’ve checked ten right now just waiting for you to be ready to go.”

Steve straightened and huffed out a breath. “I’m saying goodbye to our son.” In case that had slipped his mate’s notice.

“You’re taking forever is what you’re doing.” Stepping into the room, Tony gabbed onto Steve’s arm and pulled him towards the door. “Let’s go. See you, Peter, love you, stay out of trouble, bye!”

O~O~O~O

Peter grunted awake as there was a loud _slam_ on his bedroom door before Clint’s voice echoed through the wood. “Rise and shine, sleeping beauty! You got school in an hour and fifteen minutes. I got up early for this, so you better be ready to go in half an hour!” 

Peter glanced over at his alarm clock and found that Clint was right. Groaning, he rolled off of his bed and stumbled to the door. It felt too early but there was definitely light slipping in passed the curtains drawn over his windows. He knew that if he didn’t respond Clint would have no problem bursting in and yanking him out. And with all the stuff he had scattered around his room after his Dads left he didn’t want anyone coming in until he cleaned things up. Pulling his door open just enough for him to stick his head out, he blinked blearily up at the Hawk. “Okay, I’m up!” Wow, Clint had looked better.“...What are you going to do all day?”

“With your dads gone? I’ll probably go back to sleep as soon as I boot you out the door until Tasha notices.” Clint was still dressed in his pajamas and looked as tired as Peter felt. “I got back from the field with Bruce too late last night, er, early this morning, and I need about twelve more hours of sleep before we gotta go back out again but someone needs to make sure your ass gets to school.”

“And you’re just going to boot me out the door?”

“I called your Dad’s driver, Hogan. He says he’s free to drive you into town.”

“Oh…” Peter thought for a moment before he smiled up at Clint. “Okay. Lemme get dressed and get my stuff together.”

“Sure…whatever. I’m gonna go start some coffee and get some cereal out for you. Cereal’s fine for breakfast, right? I think we have milk. Otherwise I think Thor left some Poptarts last time he was here…” Clint’s voice trailed off as he shuffled away from Peter’s door.

Taking his chance, Peter shut his door again and ran to his closet to pull out some clean clothes. Once he was dressed, he dove for his backpack and quickly turned it over and dumped all his school books and binders out. Peter quickly pushed them all underneath his bed then scrambled to repack his bag with everything he had been finishing up last night. The blue and red fabric disappeared as he zipped his backpack up then threw it over his shoulder.  He carried it with him to the bathroom as he rushed through his morning routine, too anxious about it to let it out of his sight even for a minute in case someone noticed. Someone always seemed to be watching but with his Dads out, Thor and Loki gone, Bruce asleep, and Natasha out of the house, he wasn’t going to get a better chance than this. Peter had been working on this all by himself for almost four months now and he had just been waiting for this kind of opportunity. He had hoped that he would have been able to show his Dads first but it looked like he was just going to run his own tests.

Peter found Clint downstairs wrestling with the cappuccino machine but he had actually pulled out three different boxes of cereal so that was something. Peter picked one of them, dumped it and some milk into a bowl, and practically inhaled it. He was all nerves this morning but was trying not to let it show on his face. Clint was pretty out of it so he probably wouldn’t notice but even he might get suspicious if Peter started acting too strangely.

He looked up at the clock and saw that it was late enough to reasonably want to leave. Dropping his bowl in the sink, Peter grinned up at Clint. “Alright, see you later, Clint! I’m heading out now.”

Clint didn’t even glance up from the coffee machine as he jabbed at one of the many buttons, his brows dawn down in a groggy scowl. “Yeah, sure. Text us when you’re done, someone will pick you up from school.”

“Will do!”

Just as Clint had promised, Happy was waiting for him in the driveway. He smiled happily as he saw Peter come out the front door and Peter almost felt back for tricking him as he smiled and waved back. The sun was beaming down on him now, but this time the light was a lot less obtrusive and a lot more energizing. This was going to happen today, this was really going to happen! Hurrying down the front steps, he ran up to the car and climbed into the back, being careful to keep his face innocent and his backpack clutched tight in his hand the whole time. Natasha had told him once that over-explaining something was a big sign of lying so Peter kept things simple. “Hi, Happy! So it’s cool if you drop me off at the Natural Science Museum, right?”

Hogan frowned and looked at Peter in the rearview mirror as started the car. “What’s that? I’m pretty sure it’s a school day, Peter.”

Peter instinctively wanted to shy away at the slightly reprimanding tone in Happy’s voice as his nerves fluttered in his chest. But, no, he had already come too far to turn back now. So he gave an exasperated sigh. “Clint didn’t tell you when he called? I have a field trip today and we’re supposed to meet at the museum downtown.”

The man heaved a sigh of his own but rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I knew I should have called to confirm what the plan was…It figures something like this happens the day your Dads take off. Do you need a permission slip signed or anything?”

“Nope, I’m good. Pop signed it for me last night.” That was a blatant lie but Peter was actually kind of grateful that Happy would actually think to ask about something like that.  Then again, he and Pepper pretty much had to remember everything for his Dad so he had practice with that sort of thing.

Happy nodded as he guided the car out of the driveway. “Alright. Will you need a pick-up from the museum this afternoon?”

“I’ll call you. I think there might be a second part of the field trip scheduled so I’ll let you know where we are.” He was going to try to make it back there by three but who knew where he was really going to end up?

Happy seemed to accept the answer and Peter’s story, probably because it was the first time that Peter had ever lied to him. The rest of the ride was easy. They were both comfortable enough with each other that they were both able to enjoy the drive and Peter found that his nerves were actually starting to settle. Until they pulled up in front of the museum that was.

Narrowing his eyes, Happy looked up at the large building. “That’s funny…I don’t see any other kids around.”

“Uh, yeah, we’re meeting inside and I guess it’s still pretty early. You made good time!” Climbing out of the door before Happy had too long to question everything and poke holes in his story, Peter gripped the strap of his backpack. “Thanks, Happy! I’ll call you when I’m ready to be picked up if that’s alright?”

“Sure, Peter.”

Happy waved as he drove away and Peter stayed right on the curb, waving back until the man was no longer in sight. Then he turned away from the museum and hurried in the opposite direction to where he knew thanks to the internet that there was a public bathroom. The smells were pretty bad as he pushed his way inside and closed the stall but Peter hardly paid them any attention. All of his senses were focused instead on his backpack as he set it down and unzipped it. He released a long breath and a smile spread across his face as he pulled out his red and blue suit that he had spent the last few months making, the spider symbol he had created sewn right onto the front. He wasn’t just going to sit back and watch anymore. He was going to step up and make a difference, just like his dads. Except he was going to be able to do things they weren’t. “Sorry Pop, Dad. But if you’re not going to let me go out with Bruce and Clint, I’m going to have to go to the crime on my own…”

O~O~O~O

The whole house was quiet, the temperature perfect, and the soft sound of the breeze and birds chirping outside of the open window. It was usually peaceful and it was as if everything was settling in the wake of the stillness inside.

Natasha’s eyes flashed open and she looked up at the sharp sound of her cell phone ringing. Sighing, she uncurled herself from her hummingbird pose and hoped that whoever was calling had a good enough reason that it would warrant interrupting her mid-way through her yoga routine. Now that Clint and Bruce had gone back out into the field she had the whole mansion to herself in what felt like years and she had been making the most of it. But of course it couldn’t last long.

Snatching her phone off of the table, Natasha answered it. There were only so many people who had this number so she knew it had to be important. “Romanov speaking.”

“ _Hi Natasha, it’s Coulson. I was hoping that you might be able to make it to the office this afternoon_.”

Natasha frowned and moved to stretch the muscles in her legs out. “I was in this morning and wasn’t scheduled to come back in until tomorrow night.”

“ _Something came up_.”

“A problem?”  Natasha drew her brows together as her frown deepened. Coulson didn’t often show his nerves but his voice didn’t seem tense the way it could be when an emergency popped up. The only reason Natasha could hear it was that she knew Coulson so well.

She heard the man sigh. “ _I hope not. I’d rather show you. Please come in as soon as possible_.”

“I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.”

Natasha made short work of changing into more appropriate clothing, choosing not to wear her tactical suit but a top and jeans she could move well in instead. She still didn’t think that Phil had an actual mission for her and didn’t want to stand out when it would more likely benefit her to blend into crowds. After that she borrowed one of Tony’s cars and drove herself into the city. At this time of day in the early afternoon traffic wasn’t bad and she walked into Coulson’s office with three minutes to spare. Coulson was sitting at his desk staring at his computer monitor with his hand resting over his mouth but his eyes flashed up to her as she stepped in. “Natasha, thanks for coming in on such short notice.”

“Of course.” She would always show up when he called her. For work or otherwise. Natasha wondered sometimes if Coulson knew how much she, Steve, and the rest of them would really do for him after all he had done for them. “What did you want to show me?”

Coulson sat back in his chair and gestured towards his computer screen with a soft sigh. “I thought you might want to see this.”

Raising a brow, Natasha walked around his desk so that she could see the monitor. She was confused at first when she saw that he was streaming the local news station but then she realized that it must be the story itself that he wanted her to see. From the tone of the newscasters’ voices it was clear that it wasn’t like a national disaster. They almost seemed amused, which only confused her again. This didn’t seem like something that would fall into her area of expertise.

On the screen it showed two masked men dangling from a billboard as the news anchor spoke over the video. “ _It was an exciting day down at the First National Bank on Fourth Street today when two armed men rushed in demanding money. The teller just had enough time to activate the panic button before she was forced to the floor at gunpoint. But before they were able to harm anyone, witnesses say that a costumed man ‘flew’ inside the door, beat the men into submission, and then attached the men to the billboard using some sort of web._ ” The picture cut back to the two reporters who were facing the camera with carefully crafted expressions of interest and surprise on their faces. “ _The costumed stranger is believed to be either a human with advanced technology or some sort of Shifter. This expert though says that there are a number of clues to the young man’s species._ ”

The camera switched again, this time to an older, professional looking man being interviewed by a field reporter. He reminded Natasha a bit of Bruce and she wondered if he was a college professor. The man adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat before he looked into the camera. “ _Yes, I find it difficult to believe that this man is a Shifter. First of all, his behavior is like no other Shifter that I have yet encountered. Second of all, these abilities are unheard of for a Shifter in their human form. We all know that they are stronger and faster than humans but they certainly are not able to climb walls like this._ ”

They cut to a video someone took with their cell phone of a figure climbing straight up a building. A very recognizable figure and Natasha leaned forward over Coulson’s desk. There was no way…She almost missed it as the reporters spoke again. “ _Some speculate that it is a stunt to gather media coverage from Stark Industries, the massive technological powerhouse that is based here in the city. CEO Tony Stark was unavailable for comment but his representative, Ms. Virginia Potts, denies all allegations or connection to the masked man.”_

Natasha wasn’t surprised that Tony hadn’t picked the news station’s calls but if he had he would definitely know a thing or two about this. Pepper hadn’t recognized him dressed up in that suit but Natasha had watched Peter grow up and learn to climb walls. She had taught him how to spin his web. And there was no mistaking it now on camera. “Coulson , that’s Peter.”

The tired way Coulson was looking at the screen was enough to let her know that he already knew that. “I assume you didn’t know about this?”

“No.” Which was saying a lot. Natasha had to give the kid credit. Peter had clearly been planning this for a while. He had even made himself a costume without anyone noticing. “Steve and Tony aren’t going to like it.” They weren’t going to let her, Clint, or Bruce get away easy with letting it happen either.

“I’d say that’s an understatement.”

Sighing, Natasha straightened back up. She was maintaining her calm, just as Phil was, but her chest felt tight with worry. Peter had been trained, yes, but not in the full set of skills that would allow him to safely take on armed robbers. He was going to get himself hurt and she would never forgive herself if that happened. “Should I go get him?”

Coulson finally looked away from the screen and met her gaze. “I already sent an agent to collect him. I figure if Peter wants to be a public figure he needs to start learning how to deal with public agencies.”

“Like SHIELD?”

“Better than the police.”

“True.” Very true. And the police were sure to be looking for him. They had an uneasy enough truce with SHIELD. Natasha wasn’t sure how they would react to a super-powered vigilante running around their city.

O~O~O~O

“Mr. Parker.”

Peter had been swinging across rooftops when the sudden shout caught him off guard, making him miss grabbing onto his next web and sent him toppling to the rough graveled roof of an apartment building. “Huh? Ack!” He tucked himself into a roll but still skid across the sand and tar but he was beyond gratefully when he came to a stop and found that he hadn’t torn up his costume. Looked like springing for the higher quality material paid off. Hissing, he pushed himself up and rubbed at his elbow where he had banged it against the roof. “Ow…Why can’t I have Dad’s reflexes…?”

“Mr. Parker.”

He snapped back to attention and looked up at the person who had called him out. It was a woman dressed in an all-black tactical suit, sort of like the one he had seen his Pack wearing. She had dark sunglasses over her eyes and the rest of her face as absolutely expressionless and impossible to read. She was human but not even her scent gave anything away. Swallowing, Peter pushed himself back up onto his feet and dropped his voice to try and disguise it. “Uh, sorry citizen. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

“I don’t think so.” It took everything Peter had not to back up as the woman walked over to him. He didn’t even flinch when she reached to her belt and unclipped a small leather wallet. She flipped it open and his eyes caught on a badge and an ID card. “Agent May, SHIELD.”

Peter couldn’t help it as his shoulders slumped in relief. For a second there he thought she was going to kill him or something. “Jeez, you guys are quick.”

He could be wrong but he thought he saw the barest hint of a smile flicker onto her lips but then any signs of it were gone. “I’m here to bring you back to SHIELD headquarters. I trust you’ll cooperate.”

Peter did cooperate. He could’ve run but he knew that wouldn’t be good for anything. If he went along with her maybe she wouldn’t tell his dads. Besides, he had already caught the bad guys, and had been pretty badass about it if he didn’t say so himself. That had to count for something, right?

He tried to start up a conversation after Agent May loaded him up into her car but she didn’t say a word back to him which just intimidated Peter all over again. Which left him sitting in the passenger’s seat, still in full costume, twiddling his thumbs and trying not to look as awkward as he felt.

Peter was actually relieved when they pulled up to the SHIELD building. He hopped out of the car as soon as May put it in park. She had pulled into the SHIELD agents’ parking lot that was tucked underneath the main building so Peter didn’t worry about any normal people seeing him. Of course he was wearing a mask, so what would it matter if they did? Agent May caught up with him at the locked door that led into the building and after she swiped her ID, Peter held the door open for her in an exaggerated show of chivalry. She wasn’t impressed.

May walked him directly to the elevator but at that point Peter didn’t need her to lead him around. He didn’t come to the SHIELD office a lot but all the same he had been coming there his whole life. He had spent a few good months in their hospital and then in their barracks after his Pack took down Hydra. Peter didn’t have any solid memories from those days but it was like the blueprint of the SHIELD offices had been imprinted in his brain. So he knew exactly where they were going when May herded him out of the elevator and down the hall.

Sure enough, a minute later they were standing outside Phil’s door and May grabbed Peter’s arm and tugged him inside.  Phil was standing in front of his desk with his arms folded over his chest and nodded to Agent May with that small smile on his face that Peter had learned early on didn’t necessarily mean he was happy. “Thank you, May.” The stoic woman nodded, gave Peter a look, then reached up and pulled his mask off. Peter sucked in a breath and scrambled to snatch it back from her. She let him have it without too much of a fight then walked back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Peter and Phil just stared at each other for a moment after they were left alone before Phil decided to break the silence. “Peter, it’s good to see you.”

“Y-yeah. You too, Mr. Coulson.” As he spoke, he fiddled nervously with his mask in his hands. There was still a chance he was okay. He didn’t know how SHIELD had picked up on him so quickly but maybe they didn’t know what he had done that afternoon. It sure seemed like he was in trouble though. Okay, so they probably knew about the robber thing. But maybe Phil wouldn’t tell his dads. “Um, why am I here?”

Before he could find out what the man knew, all of Peter’s questions were answered when the door swung open and a very familiar redhead walked in. Crap. He was so screwed.

Natasha closed the door again as she stepped inside and rested her hands on her hips. “We saw your performance on the news.”

Peter opened his mouth to offer some defense but Phil moved forward and motioned to his mask. “May I…?”

He instantly handed his mask over and Phil unbundled it and carefully looked it over. “Nice work. Your stitching could be a little more even though.”

Peter furrowed his brow and looked from Phil to Natasha. He could tell Natasha was mad but he had seen her worse. And Phil was being remarkably cool about the whole thing. Peter didn’t know what that meant for him. Natasha wasn’t one to beat around the bush. If he was in trouble she would have let him know it right off the bat. “So, am I in trouble?”

Natasha looked over at Phil, then back at Peter. “That depends on what you define as ‘trouble’. We’re certainly going to have a long talk and—“ She was cut off as her cell phone chirped with a text message. Reaching into her pocket, she fished it out and glanced at the message. It was from Tony.

_Hey, JARVIS just sent me a weird news story. You know anything about it?_

Shaking her head, she looked up again as Phil began to address Peter. “We won’t be pressing any sort of charges if that’s what you mean. But you have to be aware that would have been an option. I’m going to see to it that your name isn’t connected with what happened at the bank but you are going to have to be more careful next time.”

Natasha glanced down at her phone as another text came in. From Tony again.

_Everything’s normal over there, right?_

Alright, so he suspected something. She was going to have to figure out what to say to him. JARVIS must have been programmed to forward Tony any local news stories about Shifters and since the news station suspected that the mysterious masked man at the bank might be a Shifter she wasn’t surprised that JARVIS had sent the story to Tony. If he had been sent a clip from the news channel than she knew it would be a matter of seconds before he and Steve recognized their son.

_Peter’s not picking up his phone. Where is he?_

Focusing back on Peter, Natasha tilted her head. “Peter, do you have your phone on you?”

The teen shook his head. “This suit doesn’t exactly have room for pockets…I was planning on redesigning it but right now my phone’s in my bag which is on the roof of the Natural Science Museum. I was gonna go pick it up before I called for a ride back home…”

_Please don’t tell me that’s Peter._

Oh, good. Tony had been sent the clip and had clearly already watched it.

_Holy fuck, that is Peter!_

_PICK UP YOUR PHONE NATASHA WTF IS PETER DOING ON THE NEWS?!_

All caps and no punctuation. Natasha had never seen Tony revert to that before. No more pretending then. She arched a brow as her phone began to ring and held it up so that Peter could see it. “It’s your Dad.

Peter squinted at her cell’s screen as if to confirm then let his head roll back with a low moan. “Oh…crap. I’m so grounded.”

Phil’s smile widened as Natasha’s phone continued to ring. “After you get off the phone with your dads, I’d appreciate it if we could talk for a moment to discuss your crime-fighting strategy. Welcome to SHIELD, Peter.”


End file.
